Reverie Academy
by Storm0Wolf
Summary: They are the best of the best. At least, that's what they were told when they arrived at the base of the mountain. Now, they're not so sure. As the Grimm evolve and nightfall approaches, the Academy is looking less like a school and more like a war zone. (SYOC closed)
1. Prologue

Mummers float above the crowd, growing restless under the damp summer heat. The building above them provides shade, but it's no match for the demanding weather of the mountains. A girl tugs at her shirt, resisting the urge to poor her water on her head. She can feel the heat of every body around her, a slightly unpleasant smell wafting through the crowd with each inhale of air. It was way past the assigned starting time, but she didn't move from her spot, eyes staring straight ahead as she waited. She, like everyone else, has waited her entire life for this one moment. Any moment and the pearly gates before them to open up, allowing her to walk on the marble walkway into her dreams.

"They could at least have the decency to make an announcement," she growled as he stomach mimicked her annoyance. Her mother told her not to skip breakfast, but she was so excited.

The crowd went silent. The clicking of boots could be heard near the front. Struggling on her toes, she could barely see over the sea of heads in front of her. A man, with deep red hair and a ruffled suit looked at the group with a smirk. Her inner fangirl wanted to burst, that was Vin Rosso, renowned hunter and infamous playboy.

"Welcome, everyone, your patience is appreciated." His voice boomed over the crowd and ripped a smile from her face. Finally. "It is an honor to have you all here, one that the faculty of our establishment does not take lightly. You are the most exceptional students this world has to offer, and have all earned your place." Admirably, he managed to sweet talk the crowd into forgetting that they were all standing sweaty and hungry as he continued his speech. The girl felt the weight of her weapon with each word of praise and caution that fell from his lips. "I am Vin Rosso, right hand of Headmistress Rangi. I deal with disciplinary actions here at the academy, so hopefully I won't be seeing much more of any of you during your time here." A small, light laugh from the crowd. "Now," the gates slowly parted, "let me be the first to welcome you to Reverie Academy."


	2. Welcome

Breathe.

Glancing at her feet, Saffron berated herself for not taking a map of the school from one of the elder students in the doorway. Now, shuffling along with mass of other students, there was nothing for her to do but follow the crowd and hope she ended up where she needed to be. Laughter and shivers of excitement pushed the crowd forward; hundreds of feet climbed the final flight of stairs.

Red and purple light painted her light skin an array of colors as Saffron passed through the grand doorway. Stain glass windows lined the upper walls, twisting patterns of color without any true shape transformed rays of light into pieces of ever changing art. Swallowing thickly, Saffron kept a smile on her face as she found a less crowded section of the room near the side. Her feet sounded too loud against the marble flooring; her heart too fast in her chest.

"Ow!" Saffron's green eyes widened in surprise, quickly moving away from the girl she'd knocked over. Sprawled on the floor, the girl looked almost pathetically small, with her tiny mouse ears and goggles that seemed too big for her head.

"Sorry," quickly remembering her manners, Saffron offered a hand, relishing in the small smile the girl gave as she took it. That's good, she didn't hate her. "I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to mow you over."

"Were you trying to figure out the process of replacing metallic salt with Dust to create the windows?" Saffron only blinked, but the girl continued on, "I think they had to use a less reactive base like copper oxide or nickel to stabilize the Dust's transformative properties, but I'm not sure." Every word flew over Saffron's head, so she laughed.

"I just thought they were pretty." As more students filtered into the room, Saffron had to raise her voice a tad, "I'm Saffron Oak, I went to Eminent Academy." It was a typical greeting, not to overbearing but just enough to start a conversation.

"That's a really good school, their weapon forging competition team always had some of the most creative guns. My name's Hickory Dock, I went to Mirador. And I agree, they are very pretty." Light, simple conversation flowed between them as the ballroom was finally filled and the grand doors were shut with a hush. Small groups huddled together, protecting themselves for the initial isolation. A few brave souls stood apart, eyes lazily watching the crowd with disinterest.

"I hope I can get into a class with Proffesor Lucent, he's one of the best weapon makers in the world. I used his theory of Compressive Chemistry as the foundation for my weapon." Hickory smiled slightly, relieved that Saffron hadn't walked away yet. Most people tended to get tired of her rather quickly, but Saffron seemed completely invested in the conversation. It was rather odd, for someone as lovely and confident as Saffron to talk to her. A flash of insecurity settled in her chest, and she couldn't help but compare Saffron's perfectly messy blonde hair with her own plain dark brown shoulder length hair. They were two very different girls. Both were rather petie, but Saffron was a powerful beauty with a stunning fashion sense. Meanwhile, Hickory felt she paled in comparison. Where Saffron was a color scheme of bright yellow, green, and white, Hickory was a simple brown and grey.

Pushing those thoughts away as the conversation picked up, Hickory reassured herself of her capabilities. While she wasn't a universal beauty like Saffron, she wasn't a troll either. Besides her brown, short sleeved jumpsuit and dark grey boots were suited for her work with forging weapons.

"I read a little of his work back at Eminent Academy, but it went over my head. It took me a long time to figure out my weapon, especially how to activate the release for the blade without activating the Dust compartment." Images of ash covered rooms and the smell of burnt hair made her shudder. She spent many hours in detention for blowing up more than one lab room, "Honestly, there are still some changes I want to make to it."

"I could help!" Hickory gave a small hop, clapping her hands together. "My parents owned a junkyard, so I'm really good at tinkering with all kinds of weapons." She paused, and Saffron had to admit that her excitement was rather endearing "I mean, if you want."

"Of course," A resounding clap silenced the room. Saffron automatically dropped the conversation as she turned to the raised platform. Three people, adults, stood poised over the sea of bodies. They were regarded as marvels, the very personification of what every person in the room hoped to become. Her eyes were first drawn to Vin Rosso, renowned Hunter and second in command at Reverie Academy. Slouching slightly, he seemed almost amused at their obedience as if they were overly eager puppies expecting a treat. To his left was another man, with an impossibly large physique and stern stare. Her gaze didn't linger on him long. Slightly in front of both men was the single woman of the trio. Saffron recognized her as Headmistress Rangi, with her dark skin and light blue hair. Gaze sweeping over her subjects, Headmistress Rangi stood like a proud queen over her congregation.

"Welcome, to Reverie Academy." Her voice was smooth, as if singing a lullaby; "It brings me and my colleagues great pleasure to welcome you to your new home. I am Headmistress Rangi, the head of Reverie Academy. Many of you have traveled to the far side of the world from many different walks of life in search of purpose, knowledge, training, or fame. To become Hunters and Huntress who have perfected your trade to the best of your ability. By being here you have chosen to give your life to protecting the innocent, and making waves in innovation. You are not yet there. There is still much for all of you to learn before you can bare the tittle of Hunters, but," she gave a gentle smile, her features melting into a look of fondness, "this is why you are all here. To grow as individuals with the help of some of the best Hunters and researchers the world has to offer. It will be a pleasure to take this journey with you. Now, Professor Vin," She turned on her heels, quietly walking away from the microphone to make space for Vin.

"She seems nice." Hickory readjusted her goggles, never taking her large brown eyes off the stage. Saffron nodded in agreement; at least she didn't call them all undisciplined worms. That's what happened to one of her friends who went to Atlas.

"Tonight, you will all sleep in the NorthEast Tower. Tomorrow you will be assigned a time slot to begin your initiation. Get lots of rest kiddos, I doubt it'll help though," He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"He seems a tad arrogant through." Hickory muttered, sticking by Saffron's side as the crowd swept them out the door and presumably to the NorthEast Tower.

"Glad I'm not the only one who thought so." The girl in front of them turned around slightly, her golden orange eyes twinkling in amusement. "For a guy that hasn't been on the field in a long time, he's kind of a jerk," As they came to the center of campus, Saffron stole a few glances around. Off white brick buildings soured to the heavens, glares of light flickering down from the glass windows. Lush green trees decorated the courtyard as a tall, elegant marble fountain spouted a constant stream of blue and purple Dust. The campus was situated in the valley between two imposing mountains, as if the beating heart in the middle of the earth's chest.

"My name is Hickory, and this is Saffron." Yanked from her admiration, Saffron gave a full smile at the girl's knowing look. She caught her spacing out.

"Jerk's a bit of an understatement. But I guess he's got to make sure someone still thinks he's cool." Saffron chuckled lightly, and was met by Hickory and the girl's amused laughter.

"Ha, I like you! I'm Dawn. You guys from the same school?" The conversation carried on until they reached the tower. It, like all the other buildings, was a large circular building, but only had three of four stories. Upon arriving, sleek pearl colored robots separated them into different areas. Girls on the top two floors, boys on the lower floors. Giving a small wave to Dawn and Hickory, Saffron made her way to the highest floor. The other two girls were staying on the third floor, and even got to room together. As she walked down the cream hallway of the fourth floor, Saffron already felt annoyed by the overly pristine color scheme of the academy. Well, she told herself, at least the school takes good care of its facilities. Stopping in front of her assigned door, Saffron took a deep breath as she willed a smile on her face. First impressions were always important.

There wasn't even the slightest creek as she pushed on the silver doorknob. Stepping through the threshold, Saffron met two pairs of eyes staring at her curiously. Light streamed in from the wall to floor windows, deep purple curtains tied to the side.

"Hello," Saffron prepared to give the customary greeting of her name and old schools, when the girl closest to the closet scoffed and the other girl returned to her book, instantly planting a seed of doubt in Saffron's mind. Keeping her smile in place, Saffron made her way to the only empty bed and sat down. Shooting to her feet, the rude redhead, as Saffron had dubbed her, stomped out of the room. Face falling, Saffron bit her lip as a small wave of sadness washed over her. Great, she'd gone and made her roommate upset, what a wonderful way to start their relationship. Granted they would only be living together for a day, Saffron was starting to feel rather lonely without Hickory by her side. She didn't realize how easily she considered them to be friends from only a short visit. As a bird gracefully gilded past the window, Saffron hoped Hickory felt the same way. Glancing at the door, Saffron sighed heavily. It seems it was taking her a bit longer than normal to make friends at this school. She had no problems making friends back at Eminent Academy.

"If you're over there moping, stop it." A sharp voice cut though her musing. Glancing up, Saffron noticed the sun had almost vanished behind the horizon while she was pondering life away. The other girl in the room, who looked away before, was glaring at her with dusky violet eyes as she leaned back on her arms, legs crossed over the side of the bed. "You're distracting me."

Saffron's mouth fell open a bit at the girl's somewhat absurd claim, its not like she'd been fidgeting around. Yet, she didn't allow her anger to show, only gave an apologetic smile. No need to make someone else dislike her.

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't moping, but I'm sorry if I distracted you." Unsure of what to say next, she just let her sentence fade into a comfortable silence.

"Sure you weren't," the girl drawled as one of her eye brows shot up, her straight blonde hair falling to the over her shoulder a bit as her pony tail came loose. The neon pink streaks on the tips of her hair bushed at her purple leather jacket.

"I'm Saffron," Eyes widening at her outburst, Saffron could feel her cheeks heat up as the girl snapped her book closed, stood up, and strapped on her heeled boots.

"You know, for a Huntress, you're not really good at reading the room are you?" With that, the girl swept out of the room as if a smug cat after knocking a cup off the counter. When the door clicked shut, Saffron only stared for a moment, then flopped back on her bed and screamed into her pillow. Yeah, this was not going well.

The screen shuffled through names and pictures as if tasting each person's resume. Hickory's furry mouse ears tingled with anticipation as she waited to her timeslot for initiation alone. Dawn was chosen earlier, and left to prep herself back in their room. Sighing when she, once again, didn't see her name, she began to fiddle with the pocket watch in her deep pockets. The smooth form of the gadget brought her a sense of relief, and a bit of an itch in the back of her mind. There were some changes she needed to make to her weapon, and if her name showed up soon, she'd have a little time to get some of them in before the initiation. She didn't get a chance last night, one of her roommates had asked her to stop tinkering around midnight so she could get some rest.

A small smile came over her face as she remembered how interested Dawn was in her designs; she even let Hickory show her some alternative weapons she was thinking of.

"Man, if I knew it was going to take this long, I would have slept in later." The boy yawned as he stretched, the vambraces on his arms clinking slightly, then ran his fingers though long dark brown hair. Noticing her curious look, he put his hands in his pockets, and slouched a bit.

Hickory wasn't looking at him. Following her gaze, his teal eyes landed on his weapon holster. The handle of the teal gunblade poked out from its place, and Hickory couldn't help but feel a bit, well, underwhelmed.

"You ok there?" Hickory's eyes snapped up to meet his, and she gave a level stare. It wasn't unfriendly, but it also wasn't the happiest look aimed his way.

"You're weapon is inadequate." Silence. "I could make you a better one."

"Oh yeah?" The boy sounded amused, as if a small child challenged him to a race. That wasn't to far off. This girl was tiny, borderline the size of a kid. Then again, her jumpsuit had dark smears of oil, and the goggles on her head were slightly smudged. She obviously didn't dress like that for looks, practicality maybe. "I don't doubt it," Grabbing the handle, he pulled it out of the holster, turning it lazily in his hands, "I kind of made it last minute for my exit exam, but its good enough so I never really felt the need to change it."

"May I?" Struggling to push her excitement down, Hickory's eyes raked greedily across the gunblade. The blade was well made, with a slightly curved point and thick spine back that melted into a beautifully sharp edge. A fleur de lis was shallowly carved into the metal near the guard of the blade, which gave way to the barrel of the gun. Running her finger lightly over the chamber, Hickory frowned at the slight unbalance in weight. It wasn't a big deal, and would barely hinder him in battle, but there was just this itch in the back of her mind that couldn't stop thinking of over one hundred ways to improve the weapon.

"Well its about time," Stopping her inspection, Hickory smiled as her name appeared on the screen in big white letters. Handing the weapon back to its owner, Hickory almost cried, it would only take her a few hours to make the adjustments if he let her. The boy nodded his appreciation, turning on his heels as he gave her a small smirk and wave.

"Wait," Hickory ignored the few stares she gained from the volume of her demand, "I didn't get your name. I'm Hickory." The boy paused for a moment, glanced at the screen and back at her. Small world.

"Mark Sarcelle. Looks like we have the same time slots." That was convenient for him, at least he'd go into the test knowing someone on his field. It would take too much effort to learn everyone's name during his initiation; at least he had one down. Plus, as he watched her face light up, at least she wasn't annoying. A bit odd, but she seemed pretty smart.

"I can't wait, I've made some new modifications on my weapon I want to try out." They walked out into the courtyard together, birds glided silently between the vibrant green trees. Students milled around in groups, some wearing their school uniforms; the girls in yellow shirts and green skirts and boys in dark green dress shirts and black pants. If Hickory remembered correctly, the schools colors were meant to reflect the purity of the mountains. Others were geared up in their battle wear.

"Hickory!" The pair stopped as Saffron called from across the yard. A giant smile on her face as she ran over. The wind was knocked out of her as she sprawled to the ground, a hot flash of pain shot up her tailbone and was gone just as quickly. Blinking slowly, Saffron pushed herself up onto one knee.

"You again!" Saffron groaned as she made eye contact with her less than pleasant roommate. After their chat last night, the girls gave each other a wide perimeter, silently carving out their own space in the room and never venturing beyond it. Now, her roommate was towering over her, her violet eyes storming over as she glared down at Saffron with balled fist. "What is your,"

"Come now, Viola, I doubt she did it on purpose." A soothing voice playfully drifted over Saffron's head. Glancing back, Saffron caught sight of white hair and a bright red scarf. As she stood up, Saffron became intensely aware of the number of eyes that were staring at them. Pushing down a blush at the unnecessary attention, she berated herself for causing a scene. Couldn't she meet people without running into them this week? Hickory and Mark watched from afar, unsure of how to respond. It was obvious to Mark that Hickory knew the smaller blonde girl, but didn't really feel like getting involved.

Saffron's roommate, now known as Viola, gave the new boy a hard stare before straightening out her posture. Crossing her arms over her chest, Viola side stepped Saffron and walked passed her and the boy with the bright red scarf without a word. Students parted to the side as she glided away from them, her ponytail swinging lightly with each step as the pink highlights caught the sun's rays. Sighing, the boy playful wink to Saffron, his golden eyes shining as Saffron's caught a glimpse of a crescent moon struck by an arrow on the sleeve of his brown leather vest.

"Quite the spitfire isn't she?" With that he turned on his heels and jogged to catch up with the furious Viola. Best to calm her down before some other poor soul gets in her way.

Hickory and Mark casually walked over; Mark less than interested in the whole scene but didn't have anywhere better to be. Besides, he and Hickory were going to the same place, no reason to rush. As he was quickly introduced to Saffron, Hickory stared off in the direction the crazy girl went.

"I had no idea the Lune family even had a male heir." Saffron mumbled, tapping the tip of her finger to her lip. She'd never paid particular attention to the tabloids about the families of the rich and wealthy, but she was rather familiar with the Lune brand. She preferred it to the Schnees, who were know for using less than ethical practices to get their product to the market.

"Its not uncommon for the main heir to be kept secret to avoid attacks, after all, these kids are going to be some of the most powerful people in Remnant when they're older." Hickory shielded her eyes from the sun, shifting on her feet slightly. She wasn't particularly a fan of big Dust companies like Lune. While they had a cleaner record than most Dust companies, all of the big Dust giants used faunus labor because it wasn't as regulated. They could have the faunus work for longer hours in harsh environments for far less pay, and this usually led to less than ethical treatment of the workers. A bit of homesickness washed over her. Hickory grew up in an area were faunus were treated well by their human neighbors. She didn't have to experience the harsh prejudice that many of her people did, but that didn't mean she didn't have a few less than pleasant experiences.

"Yo, Hickory, its almost time for our turn, you ready to head over?" Mark yawned, picking at his shirt out of boredom.

"Yeah you guys should get going," Saffron gave a bright smile, "Go kick butt ok?" Her timeslot wasn't for a few more hours, so she might not get to see them again until the next day.

"Yeah, we will!" The group parted ways as Hickory and Mark made their way to the Transportation deck.

"Honestly, Viola, its not that bad. The teams may be randomized, but at least they took our preferences into account. Now we at least have a chance to be on the same squad." Primus sat up in his chair, one hand supporting his face as she watched the girl next to him glare out the window of the airship. She was always like this when things didn't go according to her carefully constructed plan. Ever since they were amateurs she strove for perfection, and it was never a pleasant sight when her plans broke apart. Leaning over, Primus purposely invaded Viola's personal space, taking slight amusement from her annoyed look.

"What?" She ground out, refusing to show him just how done she was with this entire situation. Oh no, she wasn't going to give him that satisfaction. Small steps clicked on the metal floor as two more students entered the seating area. A mouse faunus and brown haired boy settled themselves down, and snoring sounded through the cabin as the boy instantly fell asleep. Rolling her eyes, Viola took a deep breath.

"Come on, V. Enjoy yourself, this is supposed to be fun!" Primus took a sip of his water as the door of the cabin closed. That was odd, he took a headcount, they were still missing three people.

"No, Primus," Viola hissed, lowering her voice so not be overheard. It was in vain though, in such a small area, every small noise was as loud as a cannon. "This is supposed to be training for our future, not a game. Stay focused on your goal."

"Always so stiff." Talking under his breath, Primus dropped the conversation for now. There was just no talking to her when she got in one of her moods. For a moment he felt extremely heavy as the airbus took off, hovering for a moment before making a hard turn away from the school. Anticipation and anxiety swirled in his chest; making him feel sick and giddy at the same time. Loosing his seat belt a bit, Primus took a moment to enjoy the view. As they rose over the peak of some of the lower mountains, the pilot carefully navigated through the chain of mountains. Bright green grass and thick groups of trees rolled up and down the base of several mountains, while some of the highest were dusted with white snow.

He couldn't get enough of the beauty and purity of the region. It was part of the reason he chose Reverie over Beacon or Atlas. In terms of academics, Reverie was on the same level as both, but it received a lot less press and therefore had far less prestige. It was still a household name, but its isolated location and lack of interest in most political areas caused it to be left out in many instances. That was the second reason he came to Reverie. Taking in a lungful of artificial air, Primus forced himself to think of happier things. This wasn't the time to dwell, he had to be mentally ready.

The rest of the ride was filled with silence. A quick descent into a grassy field, and the students filed out. Licking her lips from the slight dryness of the air, Hickory eyed the cave opening with slight curiosity. The mouth of the cavity was dark and serrated, as if the mountain was waiting to gobble them up whole. It wouldn't be much of a problem; the dark never was for faunus. Headmistress Rangi stood unmoving at the entrance, Vin standing slightly behind her as they came closer. She could feel her classmates' eagerness in the air, spurring forward her own excitement. Any doubt she had earlier were quelled as she stood face to face with the beginning of the rest of her life.

"I'm so ready for this," One of the boys was nearly vibrating with excitement, his bear ears twitching as he stared forward. The heavy kite shield on his back glimmered in the afternoon sun as the shadows of the mountain struggled to reach it.

"Just a moment more, young Thorben." Rangi folded her hands in front of her, her shirt ruffling in the slight breeze. It was always a treat to get to see the eager young students begin their journey, with only the heavens knowing what they would grow to accomplish. Casting a slight glance back at Vin, she hid a slight smile when he caught her eyes with a questioning look. Indeed, one never knew how the tides would change.

Sharp gust of wind slapped at their backs as a second airship landed beside the first. "Its about damn time." Vin mumbled, rubbing his hands together in slight sadistic glee.

Three students quickly exited the bus, painfully aware of their tardiness. Even if it was not their fault, it was still embarrassing. Resisting the urge to shout a greeting, Hickory gave a small wave as Saffron ran up behind her, giving her a slight nudge with her shoulder. Rangi clapped her hands to gain their attention.

"Welcome students. It's a pleasure to formally meet you. As much as I would like time for introductions, we are running rather behind. First I would like to apologize to you," She looked at the three late students, "for the mix up, and would like to commend you on your flexibility. Now, onto the test."

Raising an eyebrow at the fast introduction, Mark crossed his arms over his chest. He could feel small bugs graze past his arms, but did nothing to stop them. There were more of them than he could kill, so might as well let it happen.

"The eight of you will pass through this gate through eight separate entrances. They will place you in different areas of the field on the other side of the mountain. Once you exit those doors, your test is live. That means everything that happens will be closely monitored, and every Grimm is real, so don't hold back." Vin used his phone to display a holographic image of the layout, the blue picture flickered slightly due to the bad connection, "Once inside, make your way to the far side of the opening, where you will find a safehouse with four items. Pick one, and return to one of the entrance doors."

"Now I'm going to explain the team dynamic." Rangi was now rather robotic, "I'm sure many of you have heard of how they operate, but I'm going to explain it, so listen carefully. The first person you make eye contact with upon entering will be your permanent teammate, the other two members of your team will be determined at a later time."

Mark sighed, listening to the soft whistle of grass change to the rough crunching of rubble as he entered the cave with the others, sanding in front of a metal door. To his right stood a boy with loose white t-shirt and sharp green eyes; to his left, a girl with mismatching eyes of yellow and orange. Man, he really hoped he didn't get a loud teammate, that would be really bad for his naps.

"Open your door and step inside," Vin's command echoed as Mark yanked open his door. The inside was metal, around the size of a gym locker. Stepping inside with slight hesitation, the door slammed in his face. There was absolutely no room to move around. Shifting his knee slightly, Mark grunted when his leg hit the side of the metal wall. There was a loud thud from off to his right, and Mark pressed his back to the cool metal.

"Ow," it was a female, sounded slightly like the Saffron girl Hickory introduced him to earlier.

"Oh if you thought that was bad," There was a demonic quality to Vin's voice, "You're in for a bad time." A booming laugh sounded from outside his door, and he was flying. Slamming forward, Mark's ears were rushed with the sound of a rocket as he was propelled upwards. Then, the door opened, and Mark was thrown out.

In mid-air.

His heart shot to his throat. For a moment he felt weightless, then he was falling, faster and faster. The trees were coming to quickly as Mark ripped his gunblade from its holster, twisted his body and waited. His eyes watered as the air pushed back his eyelids. The moment he was near a tree, he slammed the blade into the thick trunk, carving a jagged line into the base of the tree to slow his descent. He gasped as he felt his arms almost yank out of his sockets with the impact, but grit his teeth before pushing off the tree and onto the ground. Sliding back, Mark had to dig his feet into the soil to finally come to a stop, clumps of grass and dirt were ripped from the ground. Breathing hard, he quickly looked around. The tree was absolutely destroyed, the top half sliced directly in half. Once good storm and it would come down. Gathering himself, Mark forced his feet to move forward; he couldn't dwell here. The air was colder, harsher, and the smell of bad intent reeked in the air.

He needed to regroup with the others, it would be bad to run into a Grimm out here alone. Pushing himself into a run, Mark felt a small smile come onto his face. It was about damn time.


	3. Initiation

The rancid air burned his green eyes as the body of the Grim dispersed into the wind, fluttering like charred flower petals. Withdrawing the steel wires back into the handles of his tantos, Yuro could feel his muscles ache with exhaustion as he began to walk towards the safe house. The rhythmic sway of the canopy allowed small bits of light to pass through its tapestry. Butterflies of blue and silver ghosted past his face, chasing each other through the deceptively peaceful foliage.

If he wasn't attacked only moments before, he might have been able to trick himself into believing he was on a leisurely stroll back home with Ushio. A small smile crept onto his face, the poor old man was probably cursing him for leaving him all alone to do the heavy labor. However, he wasn't home, and there were Grim hiding everywhere. Yuro could feel their red eyes on his back; watching him but never moving.

Freezing for only a moment, Yuro leapt back, bringing his tantos in front of him as a body came slamming into the spot he was standing only seconds before. Dust was thrown into the air as the girl's black hair was ripped from her ponytail. She rolled to the side to avoid the Grim as it attempted to pounce on her, scuffing her dark green pants. Pushing herself up into a kneeling position, she ripped the string of her bow back, orange and yellow eyes narrowed as the Grim charged. Its massive, coati like body shook the ground with every step; its thick, white claws tearing chunks out of the ground. The arrows pierced the Grim's front legs, barely slowing it.

Yuro watched carefully as the girl darted to the side, evading being decapitated. Taking the bow by the bottom, the girl's longbow shifted into a sword with a curved blade, the bowstring retracting into the handle. Gripping the black handle, she stepped forwards and swiped upwards. This time, the Grim fell on its side as she took off an arm. The air shook with its rage, leaves falling loose from the trees. She was fast, but Yuro noted as she charged forward, her strikes weren't smooth. Her form was too stiff. Sliding behind the beast, Yuro grabbed ahold of a low hanging tree branch and hauled himself up. The girl grunted as she went flying back, firing arrow after arrow. With the creature fully distracted, Yuro jumped onto its back, channeling his aura into his weapon both blades penetrated the Grim's armored head. Shaking for a moment, the beast slouched to the ground, slowly turning to dust under Yuro's feet.

"Thank you," The girl walked towards him, her dark skin slightly sweaty as she strapped her bow on her back. Quickly taking in her frame, Yuro concluded she was more than likely a runner, and slightly taller than most girls he knew. Thinking back to her attack pattern, he knew she was rather new to fighting Grim. She was skilled, but more in a text book way than from experience.

His lack of reaction was unnerving. Pushing her fingers together, the girl tried to ignore the probing of his eyes. She could tell he was analyzing her, it was a common look many of the hunters who visited her village gave her when she approached them for training.

"Are you alright?" His voice was deep, cutting into the softness of the breeze. His short white hair brushed forward in the wind as he waited for his answer.

"Y-yes." She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of her stutter, "y-yes, I am. Thank you." Well that didn't work. Glancing over at the disintegrating body of the Grim, she looked anywhere at but at him. Yuro raised an eyebrow as he took in her body language. She was slightly turned away from him, arms close to her body, and avoiding eye contact; more than likely she was shy and his staring was making her nervous. Imminently he stopped his observation, wanting to make her as comfortable with him as possible.

"Good, we are partners now, after all." Offering his hand, Yuro smiled lightly when the girl gave him a light shake as she returned his smile. "I'm Yuro Izana. I look forward to working together."

"Amber Netherwood, nice to meet you." There was a sharp cracking to their left, and the vicious scream of a dying animal. "Oh no, that must have been one of the others." Pulling her bow off her back, she loaded and arrow as she lowered herself into a defensive stance. Moving forward, her eyes widened as Yuro put a hand out in front of her to stop her.

"I can't hear anything to indicate there is another person over there, but then again," Narrowing his eyes further, Yuro crept closer, staying low to the ground as he motioned her towards him," I would like to check first. I'd rather not make our presence known until we're sure we need to fight." It wasn't that Yuro didn't want to help someone if they needed it, but avoiding unnecessary battles was key to surviving in this type of environment. Battles often led to injury, and if the wound was serious enough, death. They couldn't afford to have one of them trying to protect the other when there were only two of them; it would more than likely lead to failure.

Amber nodded as she closed the distance between them, lowering her weapon to the side. Straining her ears, Amber tried to see if she could hear anything suspicious, after all, the eyes could be fooled by the beauty of the forest. The crisp rustle of the tree tops, the buzzing of a wasp in flight, and there. She could hear the sound of a struggle, but nothing indicated a human. There was no clash of metal on flesh, no bullets being fired, no sounds of pain, nothing. Opening her eyes, Amber shook her head negative and Yuro only looked in the direction of the safe house.

"Let's move on then." Gesturing forwards, Amber followed slightly behind him, a sense of relief settling in her. It was very fortunate that she got a partner that didn't mind her hair trigger tendencies, and was comfortable in the forest to boot.

There was a comfortable silence between them, both brewing in their own thoughts as they maneuvered though the dense undergrowth of the forest. Yuro didn't seem to be struggling at all, he slipped over uplifted roots and dodged falling seeds and leaves without even looking. Amber watched him quietly as he listened to the world around him, completely alert and relaxed at the same time. One of the shadows was misshaped, looking up, Amber's eyes widened at the anomaly before them.

"A tree house," Yuro sighed. How original. Reaching the thick base of the tree, Amber counted that the structure was actually supported by three trees; this was only the main pillar. It was nothing extraordinary, with basic wooden walls and cut out windows, it was no different than the tree houses she played in as a child. "I think we're the first people here." Yuro was already anchoring his foot into one of the grooves of the wood, hauling himself up to start the climb to the entrance.

Feeling rough chunks of bark under her hand, Amber reached up and began her own climb. Her body pressed lightly against the base, scaling up quickly as the ground got further and further away. Yuro could only stare as she passed him, before grunting and following her. Hauling himself into the tree house, Yuro glanced around the room to make sure the area was secure. The windows lacked glass, meaning a Grim could fly in at any moment, and the floorboards creaked with each step Amber took. Frowning at the incorrectly named safe house, he quietly walked to Amber's side. Before her, on a makeshift counter top were four items; a compass, a flashlight, a flashlight, and a canteen.

"There must be some significance to these items beyond our instructions." he muttered, and Amber watched him silently. He was more than likely right, this was possibly part of the test. However, she doubted there was a wrong answer. Picking up the flashlight, she offered it to her new partner to see.

"Is this ok?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she didn't keep eye contact for too long when he nodded. Tucking the small item in her pocket, Amber took a deep breath. Now they just needed to get back to one of their doors.

The room shook, Yuro staggered down to one knee as he slammed into the wall. Dropping down low, Amber's weapon was already out, aimed at a pair of fluffy brown ears and neon green eyes. Yelping at her mistake, Amber quickly returned her weapon to her back, a bright blush covering her face as the newcomer stared at her with disbelief.

"Didn't you learn to look before you shoot, you could have taken my head off." The quip was said with a light tilt and joking gleam, but there was an undertone of serious annoyance. Standing up straight, the boy's messy brown hair almost brushed the ceiling as he walked regally towards Amber. Looking down at her with disapproval, he hummed in annoyance, before his eyes tailed over to Yuro who was standing slightly behind her.

"Didn't you learn not to sneak up on a Huntress?" Although, Yuro could admit his annoyance was aimed more towards himself than the kingly looking giant in front of him. How in the world did this guy sneak up on him? Holding the boy's gaze for a moment, Yuro felt his mouth drop open in surprise a bit as the boy gave them a smile that slit his face in two. Bending deeply at the waist, the boy gave a stiff bow, and Yuro wasn't sure if it was mocking or not.

"Its an honor to meet you," Straightening up, he flashed Yuro another smile. Oh yeah, this guy was definitely mocking him. "I am Throben Sage, and you are?" He lunged forward and took Amber's hand in his. The girl stuttered as she ripped her hand away, eyes widening at his playful laugh. "Sorry, sorry, I was just kidding."

"Such a child." Yuro mumbled, straightening out his hoodie, "I'm Yuro, and this is Amber." Moving slightly behind him, Amber only nodded at her introduction, the blush starting to fade from her face.

"Partners then?" Throben nodded, tapping his chin.

"Where is your partner? You were supposed to find one before heading over here." Her voice was light, and Thorben wasn't sure if he would have even been able to hear her if his hearing wasn't so strong. He gave her a light smile as he put his hands behind his head.

"Oh, she'll be here in a minute." There was another blast that shook the trees, a flash of light filled the shaking structure before the forest was silent. The smell of smoke and charred flesh made Yuro nearly gag. "Ah, here she comes."

There was another roar of fire before a girl was propelled into the room, flamethrower pointed to the ground as the fire pushed her into the air. Strapping the long nozzle to her side. Yuro lifted an eyebrow as he noticed the small container strapped onto her belt. The small, multicolored cylinder was attached to one of the many yellow straps on her skirt near the waist line. Dusting herself off, the girl gave a small smile to everyone in the room as she walked to Throben's side.

"Took you long enough, I told you I could take out my Ursa faster than you, Saffron." Sticking his tongue out, Throben laughed and Saffron rolled her eyes before joining in.

"Fine, you won this time," She turned back to the quieter duo in the room, both who looked mildly confused. Giving them a reassuring smile, Saffron quickly introduced herself. Yuro kept silent as Amber became acquainted with the rather loud and happy duo. His fingers itched to just disappear into the forest as a headache started to settle in in frontal lobe.

"And then, after she saw me take out that Creep, she swooned over my skill and demanded I become her partner." Thorben laughed as Saffron playfully elbowed him, Amber watching with patient amusement at their embellished tale.

"Whatever Thorben, you totally just jumped out of no where and stole my spot light. I had everything handled when you rushed in. You could say I was," she paused dramatically as she whipped out the long nozzle of her flamethrower, "that I was on fire."

"Wow that was bad," Another voice cut into the room, and four more people were in the room. Yuro could feel the temperature instantly rise with the new amount of boy heat, despite the open windows. Thankful for the break from the loud duo, Yuro quickly began to study the students. There was an even split of two girls and two boys, one was a faunas with little brown mouse ears, and another's clothes was etched with the Lune Corporations' emblem. Perhaps an heir?

"Hickory! Its so good to see you!" Saffron rushed over and gathered the poor mouse faunas in a hug, both girls smiling from ear to ear before Saffron pushed Hickory to arms leanght, still gripping her arms. "You thought my joke was funny didn't you?"

"Well," The girl drawled out, "You tried?"

"Don't encourage her, Hickory," one of the boys picked bright green leaves and sticks from his long brown hair, not even looking at them. "Lets just get the things and go, I'm tired." Out of the corner of his eyes, Yuro could see that Amber had retreated from the main group, quietly pressing herself into the wall like a lizard that changes its colors as a family of buzzards circle overhead.

"I agree with Mark," the girl who called Saffron out on her bad joke strode forward and swiped the compass off the shelf. "Lets go Primus," The girl grabbed the white haired heir by the arm and dragged him out of the door without so much as a glance. Scoffing, Thorben reached for the map at the same time as Mark, both boys pausing as they held one end of the item. Standing up straight, Yuro could instantly feel a cold tension between the two. This wasn't the momentary suspicion that was between Yuro and Thorben's earlier staring match; it was much more discomforting. It was almost challenging, an instant dislike that had no real foundation. Yuro felt his heart rush to his throat as he began falling, chunks of splintered wood surrounding him. There was a slight scream from his left, then a flash of light.

Remembering himself, Yuro yanked out his tantos, wire firing out of the bottom of the handles and rapping around a nearby tree branch. Swinging, Yuro quickly descended to the ground, groaning lightly at the heavy impact. Before he could look up a hand grabbed his elbow, pulling him forward as a loud roar roughly grounded at his eardrums. Shadows fell over him as he look up to see Primus pulling him deeper into the forest. Standing up and running on his own, Yuro took a moment to take in the situation. Amber, Mark, and Hickory were trailing behind him, and Viola and Thorben were leading them away from the area. A Nevermore swooped down low, almost taking off Thorben's head.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it." Mark ground out, taking out his gunblade before jumping up and swinging at one of the Grimm's underbelly. The beast shrieked, backing away for a moment before coming back with an evil vengeance.

"Great job, you made it angry!" Thorben shouted, taking a sharp right away from a rather hilly opening. The group came to a clearing, the forest behind them and one of the imposing mountains climbing up in front of them. The base was jagged and brown, lacking any foliage other than grass and weeds.

"We can't keep on running, there isn't" Primus felt the wind knocked out of him as the ground exploded, a King Taijitu burrowing up from the ground, its body caging him in.

"Primus!" Viola's shout was high, almost panicked as he pushed himself to his feet. Jumping back, Primus attempted to dodge both heads as the walls of the Grimm's body got tighter around him. His falcion sword was in his hand, cutting deeply into the neck of the beast to keep it at bay. The beast veered on of its head away from him, focusing on Amber as she fired an arrow as the beast from below, dancing out of its reach every time it aimed for her. Running to the head's blind spot, Yuro jumped beside Primus.

Saffron pressed her back against the mountain as she blasted a rope of fire at the Nevermore, Hickory kneeling by her side as the Nevermore glided out of the way of the blast.

Mark flipped back when the Nevermore dove at him again, the talons scraping against Thorben's shield so hard it created sparks. It would be impossible to take that thing down while it was still in the air, Mark watched as Saffron reached back and flipped a switch on her flamethrower, the fire coming out a static blue.

"Ok," he breathed, catching Thorben's attention. Three pairs of eyes focused on him. The Nevermore roared as it circled back around, blocking out the sun with its massive wings. Coming down from their place on the mountain, Hickory and Saffron stood side by side with Thorben and Mark, the wind blowing softly at their face. Mark quickly grabbed his weapon before the Nevermore dived towards them. Scattering from the spot, the group readied themselves as the Nevermore curled sharply to the left, heading straight for Saffron.

Putting one foot back, Saffron readied herself for the recoil as orange fire blasted into the face of the Grimm, the heat baking her face lightly as the beast screamed. Running forward, Hickory removed her pocket watch from her belt, the golden surface reflecting the fire's light. Throwing the watch forward, Hickory could feel the thin wire of the weapon tighten around her fingers as it moved towards the Grimm. Still distracted by Saffron's fire, the beast didn't notice as the pocket watch passed over its head. Ticking one of her fingers back, there was a soft clunking noise, and three large hooked blades extended out, slashing into the beast's flesh as it encircled the neck. Crying out, the Nevermore, threw its head back and Saffron stopped her assault as Mark passed her, running towards the trees. Giving one more yank, Hickory tightened the slack on the wire, creating a leash when one of the blades buried itself into the Grimm's neck. The beast thrashed about, wings creating powerful gust that felt like razor's against their faces. Stumbling forward, Hickory struggled to keep her hold on the wire as the Nevermore threw its weight around, standing on its hind legs. She just didn't have the raw strength to compete.

Pulling an arrow from under his tailcoat, Thorben breathed deeply and ignored the bright blue fletching as he focused on the target. Just as Hickory could feel her strength failing her, the best fell back hard. The arrows ripped through the wings like fabric before pinning it to the ground as the arrows burst into two large blocks of ice. Its legs in the air, Mark almost laughed at the comical sight of such a terrifying beast trapped on its back like an angry child from his spot above the beast in a tree. Pulling out his gunblade, Mark used his thumb to change the revolving chamber filled with Dust. Giving a small smirk, Mark's sword was coated in a white ghostly glow. Jumping down, Mark gave a yell as he slashed his sword through the neck of the beast, cleanly cutting off the head. The body twitched for a moment as Mark landed, kneeling next to it. Standing up straight, Mark watched the beast disintegrate, adrenaline still pulsing through his form.

Grunting as Saffron ran into him, Mark accepted her excited hug with little complaint. That had taken way too much effort.

XXX

The auditorium was packed with first year students on the lower deck and curious older students in the higher seats. Bouts of cheering and screams could be heard from half a mile away. Headmistress Rangi licked her lips as she sorted the final few teams in the control room on the hologram, knowing that the anxious students were waiting outside.

"You sure about that kid? That one seems a bit off to me." Vin leaned over her shoulder, invading her personal space as he pointed to one of the young girls. Her picture was menacing; a firm stare and straight posture were testaments to her rigorous training. Vin had seen many kids like her pass through Reverie, and most didn't make it past their first major mission.

"She has proven herself in the initiation as well as made it passed academically rigorous written test. If I thought her incapable, I would have sent her home long ago." Lightly nudging him away, she confirmed the final few teams. Turning towards the door, Headmistress Rangi nodded towards the two robotic guards posted at the door, their unblemished white exterior almost as pristine as the walls. Scoffing as he followed behind her, Vin eyed the robots with annoyance as they saluted him. Watching dark blue hair sway with every step, Vin listened to the clicking of Rangi's heels on the overly white tiled floor. Personally, he hated how clean and perfect everything in this school looked. The school's advertising statement claimed the color scheme of white, green, and yellow was meant to reflect the purity of the mountain. To show its virtue in a corrupt world, just as the students were supposed to be righteous in their fight against the unnatural blackness of the Grimm.

"Is it because of that man?" Vin probed, ignoring that Rangi was ignoring him, "You know, just because a big cooperation make a demand you don't have to follow it, Rangi." They stopped moving forward, only inches from the door that would lead them to the stage. Turning lightly on her heels, Rangi stared Vin directly in the eye with a dark confidence.

"I follow no one's demands." Her voice was low, and he felt a chill go down his spine as he stared into the face of his confidant and commander. "That girl is here because I want her to be, that man has nothing to do with it. Understand?" Vin didn't move for a moment, before a giant, mocking grin settled on his face.

"Of course, of course. Don't bite my hand off, Gigi." Vin laughed as the Headmistress scowled at him and turned away.

"Just try to behave." Slightly stressed, Headmistress Rangi straightened up, "These students look up to you, after all." Ignoring the smart remark she was sure Vin made, Rangi pushed the door open and climbed the steps to the stage. The circular auditorium was packed, and light filtered in through the circular dome on the ceiling.

"The initiation has officially ended, and now may I present to you, the newest teams of Reverie Academy!"

XXX

Four faces, two boys and two girls, popped up on the screen as four other students walked off the stage, practically floating on endorphins with each step. Rangi could feel the excitement in the room give way to slight exhaustion as she started on the fourth to last team. Vin had disappeared a while ago, more than likely to get away from the annoying chatter of brats as he put it. A small smile graced her lips at the idea as the four students made their way to the stage, turning to face the audience. A big smile adorned Saffron's face as she stared out into the crowd, nudging Mark lightly when he yawned and shoved his hands in his pockets out of bordem.

"Hickory Dock, Saffron Oak, Mark Sarcelle, Thorben Sage. You four chose the map and the canteen. From this day till the end of your education at Reverie, you will move forward as Team MTHS." The Headmistress pronounced it as 'myth' then paused for a moment and cleared her throat, "Led by Mark Sarcelle."

Hickory stifled a laugh as Mark groaned, muttering silent complaints under his breath. Only Yuro, standing in the crowd, noticed the way Thorben's muscles tensed. A shadow passed over Thorben's eyes as his brown hair tipped over his face, hands fisted by his side. Remembering the tension in the tree house, Yuro didn't need to even try to understand the basics of Thorben's distress. There was a natural tension between the two, something that couldn't really be explained in words. Not knowing either of the two boys to well himself, Yuro couldn't speak to their personalities beyond their brief encounters. From what he saw so far, Mark was rather idle and rather unmotivated, yet not incompetent. He only caught glimpses of Mark's fight with the Nevermore, but the kid had skill and raw power. On the other hand, Thorben was rather eager, ready for any battle whether it be of wit or of sword. He, like Mark, was skillful in his fighting from what Yuro could see, but there was an air of childish pride that trailed Thorben with each step. Smirking, it reminded Yuro of the tortious and the hare, a silly story he was told as a child.

The smile fell slowly from his lips as less pleasant stories from his childhood slowly dig their nails into his neck. His breathing quickened as he palms started to fell sweaty. Suddenly he felt like there were too many people around him, and instant panic rose into his heart as his stomach readied itself to launch whatever it could back up his throat.

A gentle but firm hand was pulling him to the side, where the crowd was less and the noise was less invasive. Looking up, he felt a bead of sweat drip down the back of his neck as he stared into dark golden orange eyes. Her lip was in a tight line as she placed a gentle hand on his face, her dark skin a stark contrast to his paleness as she forced him to focus on her.

"Concentrate on your breathing. You're having a panic attack, if you don't calm down, you'll hyperventilate." There was no room for argument, and as Yuro began to ground himself, he forced himself to calm down. The girl swiftly removed her hand and stepped back, hands crossed over her chest. "You alright there? Never seen someone freak out over teams before. Your stage fright that bad?"

"No, no," Yuro blinked and frowned when he noticed the small tilt of her lip. She was teasing him. A bit of annoyance flared within him, but his manners won out his desire to walk away. "I'm fine now, thank you." With that curt answer was met by silence and an annoyingly perceptive stare of amusement.

"You know, most people introduce themselves when meeting strangers." A light laugh left her lips as Yuro simply sighed with defeat. Why were so many of the people at this school so exhausting?

"Yuro Izana, nice to meet you…"

"Dawn Lafayette. Do you," She was cut off as Viola stalked over, eyes firmly trained on Yuro as the sea of students parted for her.

"There you are," Her ponytail was swinging rather violently as she grabbed his upper arm, causing him to wince at her grip. "Headmistress Rangi just called us, lets go." Not even sparing Dawn a glance, Viola led him up onto the stage where Amber and Primus were waiting with mixed looks of apology and amusement.

Headmistress waited patiently for the final team of the day to line themselves up, her feet aching slightly from standing for so long. She never should have let the Council talk her into wearing heels all the time.

"Yuro Izana, Amber Netherwood, Viola Lapointe, Primus Lune." Goodness these names were a mouthful, "You four choose the compass and the flashlight. From this day till the end of your education at Reverie, you will move forward as Team PAVY, led by Primus Lune." The auditorium erupted in cheers as the last team of the year was officially announced. Amber tilted her head down in embarrassment at the attention, while Viola stood by her left. Feet shoulder width apart, and back straight; she looked like a proud soldier ready to take on the world. Rolling the team name around in his mouth, he knew the name was familiar but couldn't place it. Glancing down into the crowd, he spotted Saffron and Hickory cheering and waving, while Mark and Thorben stood slightly behind them looking tired out. Giving a look at his teammates, he did feel thankful. At least they weren't as rowdy as that team was panning out to be.

XXX

The moon was brokenly full; small chunks floating prettily away from the main body in the dark of the night. Not a cloud or bit of fog clouded her vision as she stared up at the beautiful constellations with awe.

"Come on Eco, lets finish this up and back, its almost midnight." An Amazonian of a girl patted Eco on the shoulder, the bags under her eyes giving away her exhaustion.

"Sorry, I just forget how pretty the sky can look at night. Atlas has been having such bad weather lately I haven't gotten a chance to see the stars at all!" Giving an apologetic smile, Eco peered into the telescope, adjusting the focus slightly. "Ok, mark down Fragment #49B as visible."

"Got it," Another girl popped her gum as she scribbled down notes, the lone boy lying down on the grass a bit away. The trees swayed above them, the lights of the city behind them. It was silent except for the occasional squeak of the telescope or the soft chatter of the girls. Eco suppressed a yawn as she backed away from the telescope, giving the Amazonian girl a chance to make a few observations. Stretching towards the sky, Eco giggled to herself as a slight breeze hit her face.

For a moment the world held its breath.

The boy was on his feet, rocket launcher aimed at the forest. Before Eco could blink, blood blanketed the ground. The boy screamed and twitched in agony, gripping his head as tears ran down his face.

"What the," Tossing down her notes, one girl ran to him, hand reaching out to get to him a moment faster.

"Poppy, wait!" Eco grunted as the Amazonian girl roughly yanked her back by her collar. "What are you," She couldn't even finish before Poppy slammed against a tree, back curving painfully around the base before the girl dropped to the ground like a rag doll. A figure appeared next to the screaming boy, tall and dressed in a blue darker than the midnight sky. Eco could feel a chill of fear run through her spine as the man's glowing grey eyes locked with hers; there was no hope in those eyes.

Roughly pulling Eco behind her, the Amazonian girl brought up her shield, brandishing her trident defensively as the man took a step closer.

"Eco Viondis," She wanted to cry as he said her name, but then his gaze slid over to her friend on the ground. Bringing up his leg, he slammed the heel of his boot down on the boy's arm, a sickening crack and an inhumane scream made Eco step back, the first tear falling down her cheek.

"Monster!" the Amazonian girl crouched down, preparing to lunge, "Don't go near him!" A laugh sounded through the clearing, mocking and happy. The girl grit her teeth, anger consuming her. Taking in his appearance, Eco swallowed thickly. She could tell, just by sensing his Aura, that he was way too strong for two third year academy students to take on. Even if they were at the top of their class.

In a moment, Eco was pinned against a tree by her neck, the air leaving her dizzy and panicked. Her friend was lying on the ground, unmoving. Struggling, Eco tried to activate her Aura, but yelped when the man plunged a knife into her gut. Tears fell down her face as she cried out in desperation, clawing at the man's hand as her vision faded.

"Such a weak little thing," It was a soft hum, and the last thing she heard as her body began to twitch, then her mind shattered.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Thank you for your feedback last chapter. I have added in line breaks at your request, so please tell me if they're an improvement or if you would like something else to help separate the scenes. Second, I can not provide you with a update schedule because as my chapters tend to be rather long, so they get split up in my free time. Updates typically depend on how much free time I have, what needs to be achieved in the chapter, and how difficult certain scenes are to write. Once again, thank you for your feedback, and please read and review this chapter as well.**


	4. A House Divided

Thorben leaned back in his chair, popping his back as the professor turned to the next slide. Jotting down the notes, he paused to mark a section the middle aged male deemed important. Something about the limitations Faunus had in terms of legal representation.

"Now, can anyone tell me which legal case led to the end of segregated schools for Faunus and human children?" There was a deathly silence as everyone's eyes darted around the classroom, looking anywhere but at the hefty man in the center of the windowless room. Students oozed discomfort and panic into the air as the professor's eyes scanned the rows of chairs, looking for his next specimen. Humming lightly, his eyes landed on a mound of dark green as the mass rose and fell in a steady pattern. "Mr. Sarcelle, perhaps you have the answer?"

Lazily looking up, Mark resisted the urge to simply rest his eyes for one more second. His teacher was glaring at him was hopeless disappointment, most likely wondering why he didn't just take the job at Signal. Mark yawned as he tried to search for any idea of what the old fart had been talking about, but came up blank. He'd barely got enough sleep the night before, how did they expect him to perform on only nine hours of sleep?

"Mr. Sarcelle, we're waiting?" Snickers floated through the room as some of the students, who probably just as clueless as he was, turned to stare at his bored expression.

"Brow versus the Mantle Board of Education." The class quieted down as the professor turned to look the brave, and thankfully decently educated, student. He was beginning to lose hope in this young generation; thankfully one of them appreciated the value of history.

"Correct, Mr. Sage." Glancing back to Mark, the professor walked to the front of the room and wrote the answer on the board, the touch screen slightly smudged from his sweaty palms. Turning back to Thorben, the professor continued the lesson with slightly increased enthusiasm. Grumbling in annoyance, Thorben continued to jot down notes, trying to ignore the light snoring that was coming from slightly to his left. Was Mark seriously sleeping again?

Pressing the pen slightly harder onto the paper, Thorben tried to keep his mind clear of anything other than the lesson. It was difficult, because he could already predict what would happen as soon as the class concluded in fifteen minutes. Hickory or Saffron would spend a moment or so waking Mark up, who'd completely miss the lesson and want to borrow someone's notes. Of course, with Hickory taking notes in a short hand only she could understand and Saffron having abysmal handwriting, Thorben would have to fork over his notes to their 'dear leader', who would fail to study, and barely skim by on the next test.

It wasn't that Thorben minded sharing his notes, he actually enjoyed teaching others; it was fun to share what he knew. The snoring got a little louder before a light thump indicated that Saffron had woke Mark up, again. Slapping his pen down, Thorben pressed his hands into his eyes as he heard Mark grumbling like a grizzly after hibernation. Idiot. What was the Headmistress thinking, putting a fool like that in charge of a team, he'd get them all killed in the field.

Blinking, Thorben panicked as the other students began flipping their notes closed and light chatter filled the room. Great, he'd missed the final bit of the lecture and he would have holes in his notes. Maybe Amber got them, she was always good about taking notes in this class. Grabbing his notebook, Thorben ignored the pop of his spine as he stood up, moving closer to his new team.

Well, it was a relatively new team, having only been formed three weeks ago. The time was rather uneventful, mostly filled with lectures and minor fighting simulations.

"Honestly I don't see what the big deal is," Saffron walked slightly in front of him, with Mark at her side as Hickory walked in step with him. Or, she tired to. Every stride of Thorben's long legs meant at least two of her's. "One heiress goes missing on another campus and we get a curfew! How does that make any sense?" Weaving through the courtyard, the group stayed tight almost as if an invisible string would only let them go so far away from one another. If it were up to Thorben, he would take his shield and hack at it until it lay in tatters at their feet. Not that he didn't like the girls; they were great, it was Mark he wanted to get as far away from as possible. Staring at the other boy's back, Thorben couldn't help but feel a bit of mirthless amusement at his predicament. Here he was, perfect test scores and impeccable references, second to some lazy brat who couldn't even tell a Nevermore from a Griffon. Second best, once again.

Grabbing his tray a little tighter, Thorben slid into the bench the team had unofficially claimed in the dinning hall with Team PAVY. Natural sunlight ghosted into the grand room, making the white walls glow with peculiar purity. Students gathered in groups, laughing or muttering over homework, as the mouthwatering scent of roasted lamb wafted in from the kitchen.

"I'm just saying, its not fair that we have to be back on campus by seven, that's when all the fun stuff starts happening." Saffron bumped into Thorben as she took her usual place across from Amber, knocking Thorben from his thoughts. Deciding to abandon his annoyance for now, Thorben speared a piece of lamb as he tuned into Saffron's rant.

"The girl was from the Viondis family, a small but influential Dust company. She was well trained in self-defense and was a part of the schools most elite student team, and yet she was still defeated with very little evidence of a struggle. The school is just trying to be careful until they know what's going on." Yuro flipped through another page of his textbook, taking up an unusually large amount of space.

"You not going to eat?" Mark's plate was already scrapped clean, only his dessert of strawberry yogurt remaining. Yuro shrugged, keeping his eyes down on the page.

"But heiress go missing all the time, its nothing new," Saffron stabbed her food a bit violently as she slumped down in her seat. Yuro paid her no mind, but paused on Viola as she and Primus shared a knowing look.

"Don't worry, Saf, I'm sure they'll lift it soon enough." Hickory gave her an encouraging smile, her vegetarian meal of vegetable samosas almost making Thorben barf. He understood, as a fellow Faunas, that their animal gene tended to have a large influence on their diet, but he couldn't fathom the idea of not eating meat. They had discussed it a few nights ago, when Saffron was listening to music and Mark had gone outside to talk to his furious mother. Hickory explained to him that it wasn't that she had anything against the taste or texture, but she always felt a bit sluggish after eating it and she hated the way it sat in her stomach. However, she did reveal to him that she absolutely loved fish stew.

"But I already bought tickets for the movie this weekend downtown, I've been waiting to see it all year." Pushing her plate away unfinished, Saffron placed her chin in her hand as she pouted slightly.

"Its no big deal, I've been sneaking out for the past two days to go get half priced slushies' at Ice Palace. I could show you how if you're that serious about it." Mark yawned, and Thorben resisted the urge to slap his hand on his face.

"Should you really be encouraging her to break the rules, Mark? If either of you gets caught, our entire team is going to suffer." Thorben didn't falter when Mark's teal eyes met his dark green eyes. Quirking an eyebrow, Mark shifted to face him fully. The dinning hall seemed muted to Thorben in that moment, although he was sure no one outside of their group was paying them any attention. Hickory tore her eyes away from her sketchpad as her two teammates squared off. Sighing, Hickory prepared herself for a possible fight, again.

"Don't be such a worry wart, its fine. The guards don't even patrol that area, there's no way we could get caught." The table slowly quieted down, as the tension between the two seemed to bubble. Their glares were now hostile as Thorben put his fork down rather loudly.

"It's not about getting caught, it's about setting the correct example as a leader, which you are obviously not doing. Our team is going to end up looking stupid when our leader is caught breaking the rules." Thorben tensed as Mark yawned, his glare lessening as he smirked in that annoying way that always got under Thorben's skin.

"Trust me, you couldn't look any more stupid." Ignoring Thorben's cry of frustration, Mark continued, "And stop nagging me, I doubt the Headmistress isn't aware of what I'm doing; women always have eyes in the back of their damn heads. If she didn't want me to leave, I wouldn't be able to leave."

"Absence of punishment isn't permission!" Thorben was two seconds away from reaching across the table and strangling his teammate, table manners be damned. Why didn't he understand his role as a leader? What did the Headmistress see in Mark?

"Would you stop yelling, your existence is giving me a migraine."

"Ok, that's enough!" Primus slammed his hand on the table, but neither Thorben nor Mark broke eye contact. Resisting the urge to just send Viola after them, Primus exhaled through his nose. These two had been going at it like dogs forever, and Primus still wasn't sure why they disliked each other so much. Yuro told him it was because they both had very dominated presences, but Primus knew there was something more to it than that. Yuro had proven to be very accurate in his observation, but he was still missing that little bit of human understanding that you couldn't learn while growing up with an old man in the middle of a forest.

"I can't believe this," Thorben's voice was almost a whisper as he clenched his fist in his lap, "All of my accomplishments and I'm stuck with this idiot for a leader." Shoving his chair back, Thorben turned his back on them and strode off, disappearing as a new wave of students filtered in.

"And they say women are dramatic," Viola hummed to Amber as she stole the apple from Primus' plate. The smaller girl only sighed in amusement, although she could feel something nagging at the back of her mind. Something was different about this fight, and looking at Mark, she could see he felt it too.

Clearing his throat, Mark resisted the urge to look back at where Thorben had left. The argument was just like all the others, but at the same time different. It wasn't like he was unaware of the unreasonable tension between them; hell he couldn't even explain it himself. Sure Thorben could be an egotistical, self righteous prick but that wasn't really the reason they didn't get along. Mark was also aware that he could be rather difficult to like, after all he was rather lazy when it came to his coursework, and his sass was borderline snarky at times; however, that didn't seem to justify the deep seated contempt that flashed through Thorben's eyes every time he thought Mark wasn't looking.

Mark wasn't stupid, despite his lack of interest in most of his courses. He actually really liked Fundamentals of Combat. He knew that Thorben was annoyed that Mark got the leadership position over him, after all, when it came down to it Thorben did have the better credentials. However, something made the Headmistress pick Mark, and while that did bring a moment of pride, it also brought a bit of annoyance. What exactly was she playing at, what was she waiting for him to do? People like Headmistress Rangi were always playing games, betting on the lives of the students under her.

"Mark?" His head snapped up to see Hickory and Saffron, backpacks on and concerned eyes watching him. Shaking his head, he gave them a small smile as he gathered up his things and followed them outside.

XXX

"Damn kid, the damn thing isn't moving, you don't have to hit it so hard." The academy could only afford to replace so many training dummies every semester. Breathing heavily, Thorben didn't bother to squint in the darkness of the empty training room as his eyes landed directly on the speaker. Crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against one of the pieces of training equipment, second in command Vin Rosso was watching him with mild interest.

"My instructor told me I needed to work on my follow through, I let up to early after making contact." Repeating the criticism made it slightly easier for Thorben to focus on his goal as his breathing evened out. Vin scoffed, walking forward, he circled Thorben with his hands behind his back.

"Is that so?" It was mocking, almost degradingly so. Thorben's shoulder's stiffened, but he tried his best not to look intimidated by the man in front of him; Vin Rosso was know through Remnant as being one of the world's most dangerous fighters, the stories around him were unbelievably spectacular, and more than likely a little less than true. "Show me." It was an order, a command without room for argument. Backing away confidently, Vin stood waiting on the opposite side of the mat, smirking at Thorben's bewildered expression.

"You, you want me to attack you?" Thorben frowned when the man laughed, rolling his neck lazily, Vin gave Thorben a smirk that reminded him of someone he'd rather not think about, and it made his blood boil.

"I want you to try, even though your best won't be much good." There was silence, and then Thorben was in front of him, foot lashing out to catch the older man in the chest. Vin stepped to the side, before taking another step back and then another as he effortlessly avoided every strike. Vin gave the boy credit, he didn't hold back, although from the look in Thorben's eyes, the ferocity wasn't meant for him.

"Damn it," Retreating slightly, Thorben reconsidered his options. Vin was obviously to fast and agile for Thorben to rely on raw power and speed alone, he'd need something else.

"For someone with your semblance, you'd think you wouldn't wear your heart on your sleeve," Vin hummed lightly as Thorben tried to concentrate, drawing the boy's attention for only a moment, "Seriously, Sage, get a hold of yourself, the Grimm may be ugly but their not stupid, they can read frustration and take advantage of it."

"You know my name?" Relaxing his stance, Thorben stared curiously at the second in command. Part of him felt proud that one of the greatest men in the world knew his name, and another felt a bit deflated because he used his last name. Whenever they used his last name, people were generally thinking to someone else, even if he was the one standing in front of them.

"Did some work with your brother in Vale for a bit two years ago, decent guy, shit at holding his alcohol though." Ah, there it was. Of course he knew Jupiter. Disappointment washed over him; of course it was Jupiter, Vin wouldn't even know of Thorben's existence otherwise. "All he ever did was talk about you, don't know why though, you're not anything like he was."

Thorben tensed again, fist balling by his side, he couldn't help but glare at the ground. Jupiter was his elder brother by seven years, and a prodigy that left a mark on everyone he met. Strong, valiant, and kind, he was everything a Hunter was meant to be. All his life, Thorben had been a few steps behinds, never able to fully measure up.

"That's because I'm not him, I'm a Hunter in my own right." Thorben resisted the urge to flinch when Vin let out a laugh, hunching over slightly as the noise shook through his whole body.

"You? A hunter? Please, I've met civilians with more self-control than you." Calming down, Vin took a deep breath, "Don't kid yourself, you're a trainee at best. Now, lets get back to it, hm?" This time, Vin rushed Thorben. His assault continued for what felt like hours, Thorben's muscles felt heavy as minor bruises started to swell on his skin. Despite Vin's less than traditional teaching method, Thorben could slowly feel himself falling into a rhythm. His strikes felt stronger, his steps more precise with every counter attack. On occasion, Vin would throw out some advice, mixed in with offhanded insults of course. The lights blared on and Thorben yelped at the sudden change stung his eyes. Stopping their training, Vin glanced up towards the control room and gave a small frown. Following his gaze, Thorben turned slightly to see a bulky uniformed figure behind the glass, two white robotic soldiers flanking her.

"Whose that?" Thorben grunted when Vin smacked his upside the head, passing him rather quickly as he headed towards the exit. Pausing for a brief moment, Vin looked back at him with more seriousness than the student thought the man possessed.

"Go back to you're room, don't make any detours either." With that Vin passed through the automatic door. Frowning, Thorben's eyes darted back to the control room, only to be met with the lights cutting off on him.

XXX

The clouds clung together above them, barricading the sun to the heavens where its rays could barely touch the mountaintops. Thin fog floated just above the damp grass as bugs milled through the air. Stepping lightly onto the concrete circle on the edge of campus, Viola readied herself for the professor to choose her opponent. Today would be the first day of individual evaluations in their Basic Weaponry class, and there was no better way to test the efficiency of a weapon and its user than through combat simulation. Huddling slightly together on the grass, the rest of the class settled themselves comfortably as they waited.

"Alright, Ms. Lapointe your opponent for this exercise will be," the professor sneezed lightly, her monkey tail twitching, "Mr. Vallary." A buff, pink haired male stood up with an excited gleam in his eye as he stepped onto the ring. From what the professor read of their self provided profiles, these two would be a good match for a basic spar, although one did have the obvious upper hand.

"Go Viola!" Primus and Saffron cheered rather loudly from the sidelines, while Amber and Yuro cringed at their childish antics and bad cheering puns. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ears that escaped her pony tail, Amber couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement too. Today would be the first time since the imitation they would engage in actual combat, and single combat at that. It was a wonderful way to see everyone's strengths, even if the battles were based on time and not damage. Much more interesting than taking notes in a classroom.

"Begin." Watching as Viola pulled a tanto like weapon from her person, Amber leaned back in her seat a bit as Primus shifted beside her, a slight smile on his face as Viola's opponent swung a spiked iron ball on chain in lazy circles. The sidelines were respectfully quiet, but the rough wind created a jagged symphony as it passed through the trees, knocking a few unfortunate leaves to the ground.

The ball was swung down towards Viola's head as Tanner Vallary jumped forward, closing the space between them with little effort. Glancing at his build, Amber immediately realized he was more of a heavy hitter, which should place Viola at an advantage. While Viola wasn't as fast as Amber or Hickory, she was rather quick on her feet.

Darting out of the way of the incoming attack, Viola's hair swung around her face as she bent backwards, dodging a kick before flipping backwards. Using the momentum from his missed kick, Tanner gave a small grunt as he swung the ball towards Viola once more. Frowning, Viola spun the handle of her weapon in her hands, feeling it extend and morph in the most beautiful way. The handle grew, and a second blade slid out of the compartment on the butt of the handle as the tanto shifted into a guan do. The double bladed staff was slightly bigger than Viola in height, and she used the extended reach to deflect the weapon heading towards her. Hearing the ball whistle passed, she spun her weapon forward, one of the blades catching on of the chain links and pinning it to the ground. Tightening her abs, she vaulted herself forward, both of her feet slamming into Tanner's chest. With a grunt, his grip on his weapon loosened, and the teacher raised a hand to indicate the end of their time.

"Good job, Ms. Lapointe, just as expected from someone from your background. Mr. Vallery, you're weapon needs further work, please see me after class." The professor called six more matches that day, before declaring that the rest of the battles would be taken care of next week. Amber suspected it might be due to the high volume of students who had what the professor considered inadequate weapons, including Saffron.

Returning to the main area of campus, Team PAVY decided to head over to the library. As one of the most famous buildings on campus, the Reverie Library stood at over six stories, with over thirty-five disciplines having their own sections within its massive walls. It was the world's most extensive collection of modern academic works on weaponry development, Grimm behavioral studies, and Medical history. Students and scholars of Remnant traveled for miles just to access the information available in the public sections that weren't even available online. Of course, with Remnant also being a school, the top two floors were reserved strictly for students and faculty, to provide a quiet learning place away from the visitors.

Slipping into an empty corner on the top level, Amber cracked open her notes and began to review the information, highlighting things here and there to help her future self study for the test. Ignoring Viola as she slammed a thick text book down, Amber couldn't help but smile as Primus began to complain about Yuro suddenly disappearing again. He had a bad habit of slipping away when no one was looking, only to pop back up later just as discreetly. Unsure of where he went, the group simply let him do as he pleased as long as he showed up for meals, team exercises, and classes. Of course, originally Primus was less than pleased with one of his team members disappearing with no trace, but eventually gave up after days of pestering Yuro for answers. More than likely, he simply wanted to be alone. Amber understood the feeling, while she was getting comfortable with her new team, there were moments were she felt a bit out of place.

Glancing up, Amber watched as Primus pointed to different sections of the text book, and Viola write them down dutifully, sometimes commenting off handily. Those two were very close, Amber could tell they had a strong bond from their first day as a team. Getting close to them as individuals was hard, but they had a bond that couldn't be touched by any outsider. Their own inside jokes, looks, and signals that came from years of being with one another constantly. From what Primus told them so far, he was one of the heirs to the Lune Dust Company, however, Amber wondered about the truth of that status because he always ended the conversation with a wave of his hand and saying that it was complicated. That's all she knew of either of their backgrounds, and while it was rather frustrating, Amber knows she has almost four years to get to know them, so she would just have to be patient. It was lonely though, because Yuro would constantly disappear and leave her with them.

Sighing gently, Amber tried to focus back on her work, the words on the paper seemed less interesting now.

"Forgive my intrusion," Looking up, Amber gave a gentle smile to Thorben as he slid in next to her, a dazzlingly smile on his face. "It seems I missed some of the notes earlier, I was hoping you would be kind enough to share, Amber." Viola scoffed as Amber gave the charming young man her notes, not bothering to argue or protest in any way. Feeling her spirit lighten, Amber couldn't help but feel grateful for Thorben's presence to steer away her lonely thoughts, if only for a moment.

With his easy going playfulness and sweet words, Thorben never failed to make her feel welcome, even if he could be a bit patronizing at times. He was rather confident in his own intelligence, which made it hard to study with him but he was a nice boy overall. Listening to the soft scratching of Thorben's pen on paper, Amber slipped her phone from her pocket as she quickly checked through her messages. Her mother was thinking of getting a dog and one of her friends complained of being stuck back home while Amber was off having, as she put it, life changing adventures. A small smile spread on her face as she quickly replied to both, a new message popped on the screen.

"We have a mandatory assembly tomorrow," her voice was barely above a whisper, conscious not to speak to loudly in the library. Looking up from their book, Primus and Viola gave her their full attention as she read the message outloud. Flipping his notes shut with a flurry, Thorben bowed teasingly to Amber as he slipped away, more than likely to go reunite with the rest of Team MTHS before dinner.

"But that's at the same time as the third block of classes, are they just being canceled then?" Viola put away her materials, bright blonde ponytail falling over her shoulder as she bent down.

"It must be important then," Primus hummed, pushing the door open as they exited the library. The air was cooler as the mountains banished the sun from gracing the campus with its warmth for the rest of the day, and thick clouds slowly crept towards Reverie Academy from the west. Quietly walking through the courtyard, Viola paused for a moment, curtly informed them that she had something to take care of, and left. Watching her teammate jog away, Amber gave a sigh but looked up when Primus placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Is everything ok?" Feeling slightly embarrassed at the ease which he read her emotions, Amber nodded, her mismatched eyes dull in the artificial lights of the street lamps. Using his hand to turn her to face him, Primus gave her a knowing smile.

"I'm fine, Primus," Amber refused to meet his eyes, instead studying the clouds in the distance, "just thinking is all."

"Yeah, I noticed you do a lot of that." Primus hummed lightly, running his fingers through slightly messy white hair. There was silence between them, students milled past them without a glance, birds settled into their nest for the night as the first chill of Autumn ghosted past them in a frosty breeze. After a moment, Amber crossed her arms over her chest, wishing she brought a thicker jacket. Noticing her discomfort, Primus threw an arm around her shoulder and escorted her back to the dorm, keeping his stride small to accommodate her small stature.

This cool weather was nothing to him, he spent most of his childhood in less than warm temperate, since his grandparents seemed to favor the boarding schools located in cooler climates. Not allowing himself to relive his childhood, Primus focused on the task at hand; being a gentleman and good teammate. Often he felt that he was failing at the latter. He was not blind to the small cracks in his team; cracks small enough that an outsider would not be able to see until they tapped at the surface only to watch the team fragment into three pieces.

As the leader of Team PAVY, Primus knew it was his responsibility to keep the team together, and it was a bit stressful. Viola had been by his side since he first started his training to become a hunter, although it was more of a professional bond until it developed into a friendship. There wasn't anyone in the world that stood by him the way she did, she went above and beyond the role she was assigned to play in his life, and he couldn't imagine getting this far without her.

Now he had two new additions to his life, Yuro and Amber. His other male teammate, Yuro, was rather reserved and often spent more time alone than with his teammates. It was annoying, but eventually Primus knew it was just a part of his personality and wasn't anything personal. Still, that created an awkward dynamic in their team since one member wasn't as dedicated to strengthening their bond as the others. Glancing down at the small girl beside him, Primus resisted the urge to sigh. Amber was a sweet girl, but so quiet. She got along with Viola considerably well, especially since Viola had a bad history with making friends with other girls. Primus was well aware that Viola could be mean or proud at times which tended to drive other away. Amber didn't seem to mind, or at least, put up with Viola with a smile and a laugh. However, Amber seemed rather indifferent towards him. They studied together, and he knew she appreciated his conversation, but she rarely initiated conversation with him like she did with Yuro or Viola.

Finally reaching their room, Amber fiddled with her key for a moment before pushing the door open. Yuro laid against the wall next to his bed, headphones blaring he gave them a small nod before concentrating on his book. Throwing his bag on the floor, Primus flopped down on his bed, opening up his phone as Amber muttered about going to see Hickory and darting from the room. Primus propped himself up as he read through a message from his little sister, Flora. Seems his grandparents were nagging her about a concert she wanted to go to with her friends. Flora rarely made a fuss or pushed for something, but when she wanted something, Primus smiled, she could be as stubborn as a mule. Resigning himself to big brother duty for the rest of the night, Primus happily replied, waiting patiently for an answer he knew would come.

 **Thank you for reading. Please review, especially if one of your characters is in the story. I really like to hear your feedback on how I'm writing them, good or bad. I'd also I like some feedback on how you feel about the other characters or the plot, anything really. Thank you, once again.**


	5. Lock Down

Young people milled in the downtown streets, arms occasionally brushing against a stranger as they passed by local boutiques and restaurants. Hands pressed lightly in her pockets, Hickory hummed a tune as she took in the tall-multicolored buildings. It was nice to see variety in the architecture after spending most of her time in the academy, visiting the actual city slipped her mind. A slight chill swept across her face as the sun slowly fell behind one of the many mountains, cooling the city far to early.

"Alright, we just have to get a three pack of any dust of our choosing and we'll have everything." Shifting the clear plastic bag in the crook of his arm, Primus' yellow eyes scanned the street signs; trying to remember what street the store was on. Professor Rain was very specific on where they could get the materials for the project, and even demanded receipts to prove the students followed directions down to the letter.

"We should stop for ice cream on the way back, I've heard great things about Ice Palace from Mark, plus," Saffron pulled a slightly crumpled piece of paper from her pockets, "I have a coupon." Snatching the paper from her hands, Viola quickly scanned the offer, before scoffing at the expiration date that passed the night before.

Laughing lightly at Saffron's antics, Hickory brushed a stray strand of dark brown hair as it blew in front of her eyes. Twisting the piece in her fingers, Hickory debated cutting her hair like Viola suggested. The long brown stands were constantly getting in her face during her engineering lab, and would eventually become hazardous on the battle field. There were some girls, like Saffron and Amber, who could handle the occasional loss of vision during a fight as their hair swung in front of their eyes, but it was an unreasonable risk that Hickory felt compelled to address.

Speaking of unreasonable risks, Hickory's eyes drifted to the cylinder strapped to the back of Saffron's bright yellow skirt. Her walk slowed slightly as her thoughts shifted, boots clicking on the brick path. In the eyes of an enemy, Saffron's flamethrower was a flashy and intimidating threat, able to spray streams of Dust tinted fire across large distances, doubling as a type of sword in closer combat. However, Hickory was a mechanic by trade, and a weapons engineer in training, so she could see every tiny flaw in the machine; the way the cylinder's bolts were just a smidge too loose, the way the Dust compartment grinded a bit too loudly when activated, and the way Saffron had just barely mastered the weapon. To put it frankly, the weapon was dangerous in Saffron's hands, barely functional at best. As a fighter that used heavy hits to overwhelm and defeat her enemies, Saffron would be better matched with a closer range weapon.

Brown ears twitching lightly, Hickory suppressed a yawn from deep in her chest, blinking rapidly to push back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes afterwards. Pale yellow lamps flickered on as the last ray of sunlight vanished behind the mountain, and the bugs began to warm up for their nightly symphony. As the night fell upon them families were replaced with young couples. Watching curiously as a young faunas ran down an ally way, a soggy brown bag clutched to her chest, Hickory could only smile when she saw the girl dump the sticky leftovers in a battered tin bowl. Two cats, dirty and wide eyed, greeted the girl warmly as they accepted the offering of rice and tuna.

"We should hurry back, I don't want to get in trouble with the guards for being outside the gates past curfew, even if we did get special approval." Yawning slightly, Primus turned the corner and jerked back, narrowly avoiding hitting a formally dressed guy in a business suit. Yellow eyes darkened as he watched the man leave for a moment, before turning into the Dust shop. The wooden door gave a hefty groan as Primus pushed it open with ease, and, always the gentleman, held it open for the three ladies behind him. An older gentleman, with bright orange hair and wrinkled black eyes, nodded stiffly as the group approached the counter.

"Hey Mr. C," Viola gave a quick bob of her head, pony tail bouncing slightly as she examined the different Dust displays in the class counter.

"My, my, its nice to see you again Viola and Mr. Primus. It's been some time, yes, quiet some time." The man clapped his hands together lightly, a small smile creeping on his face. Feeling her curiosity ensnare her, Hickory wandered further into the store, squeezing between the shelves to get to the display in the back. Not saying a word as Saffron followed her silently, green eyes shimmering in glee as Saffron stared at this and that. The door groaned once more as it was pushed open, and Hickory's mouse ears twitched at the intruding noise. Running her finger gently over the new Dust crystals, Hickory gingerly plucked one off the wall. The dense green crystal bounced the dim light in every direction, feeling heavy and cool in Hickory's hand.

"Shit!" Primus' grunted as a loud slam resonated through the store. Windows burst, glass shards littering the floor as Hickory felt the air being robbed from her lungs. Fingers curled around her tiny wrist, and Hickory was dragged forward, shoulders bumping roughly against the wooden shelves that were still standing. Forcing her eyes open, she could see Saffron's hair bouncing in front of her as she pulled Hickory along. Righting herself, Hickory hopped out of the store through what was only moments before a window, only momentarily taking note of the kind old man crouched behind his counter. Skidding to a stop, Hickory put her hand over her pocket as her brown eyes quickly took in the area around her. The streets were bare as Saffron and Hickory stood a few feet behind Viola and Primus. Standing slightly in front of Primus in a defensive crouch, Viola aimed the barrel of her guan dou at two cloaked figures as Primus. Hand on the hilt of his falchion sword, Primus warily watched the two attackers with patient interest.

Hickory's mind instantly screamed danger as the first figure shifted slightly to the right, resting their weight on their right foot. Licking her chapped lips, Hickory cataloged everything she could; black robes, red circle with black clouds embroidered on the chest, one was male, the shorter one more than likely being female then. Literal partners in crime?

"Primus Lune," Oh yes, Hickory stiffened slightly at the deepness in the speaker's voice; this was a male, "Come quietly and minimal harm will come to your companions." Wait, Hickory felt her instincts twitch for a moment, something was off she could feel it. There was a bit of static in his voice, perhaps he was using a voice manipulation box?

"Hmm, as if." Viola slowly took a step forward, violet eyes darkening as she sized up her enemy. Saffron quickly moved to back her up, the nozzle of her flamethrower already untucked from her skirt. Taking a deep breath, Hickory prepared to pull out her own weapon as she moved forward. Their target was Primus, the reason didn't matter now, and all that was important was keeping him safe.

"Wait." Primus laid a heavy hand on her shoulder, never looking at her as Hickory turned slightly to meet his gaze. He was staring at the enemy, his brows furrowed lightly in frustration. She could see him thinking, planning as he tried to mentally defeat an enemy he knew nothing about.

"Don't worry about us, Primus," Saffron glanced over her shoulder and gave him a wicked smirk, "We've got this, you just sit back and," Yelping loudly, Saffron went flying, skidding across the ground as she rolled to a stop. Turning on his heel, Primus leaned away moments before a gloved hand could grab the back of his shirt, the creak of steel sliding against the leather scabbard almost painfully loud as Primus unsheathed his sword and swung at the smaller figure.

"Saffron!" Hickory pulled her pocketwatch from her pocket, waiting for the smaller figure to make another move. The girl's fighting style was fast and heavy hits over a long period of time, it was easy enough to deduce, considering how she stalked them just out of reach. Viola was still in a stare off with the male, neither of them moving.

"Viola," Primus' voice was deeper than normal, mouth set in a grim line, "We're pulling out. Do not engage. I think these are the people you were warned about." Brandishing his sword in front of him, Primus took a cautious step back. Leaning down, he grabbed Saffron and threw her arm over her shoulder, easily supporting her weight with one hand.

"Do not attempt to flee, young heir. It will not end well. I am simply ordered to retrieve you alive, nothing was mentioned of unharmed." A dark chuckled from the girl as she dared a step forward. She cartwheeled to the side as the blades on Hickory's pocketwatch embedded themselves in the ground where the girl was just standing.

"So the little mouse does have teeth after all," Hickory smacked her lips at the comment, retracting her weapon. "Come now, don't be naughty or we'll have to kill you." The girl's laugh rang clearly through the empty street. Wait. Hickory chanced taking her dark brown eyes off the enemy to look around. Where were the police? The explosion from the shop must have caused a big commotion, so why weren't they investigating? Glancing at Viola and Primus, Hickory tried to get a better grip on the situation. Random attack, or not so random, they were clearly targeting Primus. But why was Primus backing down so easily, and why was he talking to Viola like that? So many scenarios, questions scrambled though her head as she looked around.

"Viola!" Primus' voice boomed through the air, stopped even the wind for a moment. "I said, we're pulling out. That's an order!" Just like that Viola let a sneer cross her face as she backed down, slowly moving backwards towards her friends.

"My, my, what a big voice he has!" The girl hummed lightly, her cloak fluttering behind them as she skipped around them, circling them like an unchained dog. She darted forward laughing, going straight for Viola. For a moment, Hickory felt her eyes widen as Viola seemed to freeze, mouth open in a silent gasp as the girl seemed to teleport in front of her. Slamming her heel into Viola's gut, the girl danced around as Viola crumpled to the floor, weapon clattering against the ground.

"Damn it!" Primus shifted his feet to move forward, knowing what was coming before the girl even lifted up a long thin blade. Slashing forward, Viola screamed as the blade cut deeply into her arm, blood pouring in-between her fingers as she curled into herself, frozen in fear as the tainted blade was lifted above her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Hickory threw her arms forward, fingers twitching slightly as Viola's abandon weapon shot up from the ground, as if thrown by an invisible hand. Moving backwards to dodge the impromptu attack, the girl squeaked as the sounds of sirens and beat of helicopter wings beat against the night sky.

Without another word, the two were gone.

"Damn it, Viola," Primus gently laid Saffron on the ground as Hickory bent over to catch her breath, coughing lightly. Using her Semblance without contact was way too draining. Primus grabbed Viola by the shoulder, trying to shake her out of her trance, "this is why I gave the order to retreat, you know what happens every time you try and fight seriously."

"Ow," Saffron was starting to come back, arm wrapped lightly around her stomach, "Ow, what the heck happened?" She looked at Primus with tired eyes, but he avoided her look and focused on the ground. A car screeched to a stop in front of them, the flashing lights blinding them.

"Are you all ok? What happened here?" A police officer jumped out of the driver seat, staring at the four battered students before him before taking in a sharp breath, "Someone call Headmistress Rangi, these are academy students!"

"Oh man," Saffron moaned as Hickory sat close to her, giving her teammate a gentle smile, "We didn't even get ice cream!"

XXX

Saffron held an ice pack to her head, legs swinging over the side of her bed as Thorben paced back and forth across the deep green carpet. Hand covering his mouth, Thorben's long strides created a comforting rhythm. Glancing to her left, Saffron frowned as she noticed Hickory sketching frantically in her red binder, a space exclusively saved for any of her new ideas for weapons. Hickory wasn't a fan of using her scroll to store weapons, claiming it didn't give her the same freedom as free hand drawing did. Whatever, not like Saffron understood half of what she was describing anyway.

Sprawled out on his bed, Mark kept his eyes closed as he patiently waited for Thorben to say what was on his mind. No use trying to force it out of him, it would only lead to more yelling between them, and he's sure that wasn't what the girls needed right now.

The sirens were gone now, but only moments earlier were cops surrounding the school looking for clues, Headmistress Rangi ordering everyone to their respective dorms. Saffron came stumbling in with Primus supporting the majority of her weight, before he was whisked away by Vin who looked rather irritable at the current state of affairs. The room stilled as a knock sounded from the door, Mark sitting up as Thorben went to open it. He barely had a chance to turn the knob before stumbling back as Vin shoved the door open, striding in with a serious frown. His orange eyes darted around the room, leering when they landed on Hickory. Barely suppressing the urge to curl up into a ball as the door was slammed behind him, Hickory laid down her notebook.

"You kids ok?" Voice a bit deeper than usual, Vin pulled one of the wooden chairs from the desk and sat down, legs spread and arm draped over the back rest. Saffron tried to nod, but winced as a drill went off in her brain. Vin raised an eyebrow curiously, "The paramedics said you might have a minor concussion. I'd excuse you from classes, but the schools going into lock down for the rest of the week until we sort this mess out."

"Oh, thanks, I guess." Saffron let her arm rest for a moment, removing the ice pack from her head. The bag was slippery now, condensation dripping onto her leg. Mark passed her a wrinkled shirt, which she gratefully took and dried herself off and placed the bag inside.

"Hm. As much as I'm glad you're all alive, less paperwork for me, I didn't come here to play concerned parent." Vin leaned forward a big, elbows resting on his knees, "I know you've already spoken to the authorities about what happened, but Headmistress Rangi felt it was necessary to keep you informed since you might have key information to convict these guys once we catch them." Hickory crossed her legs and scooted closer to the edge of the bed, ignoring the heaviness of her eyes. It was almost sunrise, and the adrenaline had long since worn off, leaving Hickory aching and slightly cranky.

"So do you want us to leave or?" Mark let the question trail off, suddenly very awake as he watched the right hand man of the Headmistress lounge in Thorben's seat. Making eye contact with the two young boys in the room, Vin shrugged lightly, running his fingers through his slightly tangled hair.

"No, no, you can stay. One thing you kids have to learn is that you don't keep secretes from your teammates, makes for bad chemistry on the field." Vin nodded in approval as Throben and Mark made brief eye contact before focusing back on him, happy the brats were paying attention to him.

"Are Primus and Viola ok?" Saffron blinked away the tiredness that was settling heavily on her shoulders, head throbbing a little less now. She could only remember snap shots from their return, one of the firmest memories being of Headmistress Rangi whisking the two away from her and Hickory the moment the police brought them back to campus. Viola's eyes were still wide, almost as if she was still in shock as Primus used a hand on her shoulder to guide Viola away. The solemn dullness in Primus' golden eyes was foreign to her, he was usually such a playful character.

"Physically, they're fine, but mentally? You'll have to ask them." Vin sighed, looking at the window with longing, he almost regretted giving up smoking a few years back. "As of right now, the school will go into lock down until we find the guys who attacked you. Since their target was explicitly Primus, we suspect they're part of a group that has been targeting heirs of Dust companies for the past few weeks. And since Primus isn't the only heir at Reverie, we want to take this as a warning that all of those students, and by extension those around them, are in serious danger."

"That's a rather big jump," Thorben scratched his elbow lightly, as he leaned back against his headboard, "After all, heirs are attacked on a routine basis. How do you know this isn't just a coincidence?" Although Thorben wasn't very into economic politics, it wasn't uncommon for a headline to read that some heir or heiress went missing every now and then. Most were just ransomed for a good chunk of money and released, but the kidnapper was usually caught within a few days of the exchange anyway. More than likely Primus' attackers were just skilled bounty hunters looking for quick cash.

"Usually that would be the case, but there have been a string of heirs going missing from their schools. I'm sure you've all heard of the disappearance of Eco Viondis from Atlas Academy. She's the heiress of a minor Dust company, yet they went through serious methods to get her. Her kidnappers were able to brutally maim one of her teammates and kill the other two without alerting anyone, which considering the security of Atlas, shows extraordinary skill and planning. It's a wonder you guys aren't smears on the concrete right now." Vin closed his eyes for a moment, letting the information sink in. Despite his rather dark humor and dismissive treatment towards the students, he never wished for any serious harm to come to them. Of course they were going to be hurt, they were hunters in training, but this was way above them. If these people were who he thinks they are, then its nothing short of a miracle that the girls are all alive and Primus isn't missing.

"It is rather specious for us to have survived the confrontation." Hickory mumbled just loud enough for them to hear, and Mark had to keep his face neutral as her vocabulary escalated. The team noticed it was a nervous tick of hers, to speak in more complex terms. "After analyzing their movements, it was clear that they weren't fighting to their full capability. If not for their tormenting, I have no doubt that we'd be killed within seconds." Swallowing thickly, Hickory stared off into the distance as Vin gazed at her with a deadpanned expression. Man some of these kids were weird.

"Glad you realize that." Vin yawned, "those guys were the real deal from what you told me, and I have no doubt they'll be back to finish their goal." And that was the difficult part. The school staff would have to be on high alert; extra security was being called in from Atlas in the form of newer police bots and Vin would soon take over as head of security until this mess was figured out. "They'll come back for Primus Lune, and they'll come back for you two," He pointed to Hickory and Saffron, "These types of people don't usually live witness alive long."

"Vin," Thorben had long since abandon giving the man a respectful title, Vin didn't like it, much to Headmistress Rangi's annoyance at his lack of professionalism. She really put up with a lot from him. "What exactly is going to happen now? You're talking like this is all going to be temporary, like a bad accident, but we're not stupid, we can see what's going on."

"Heirs going missing, students being killed, schools locking down," Mark counted all the strange events on his fingers, not looking Vin in the eye.

"Right! You said yourself these events are connected, but you're not being specific. How can we protect ourselves if we don't know what's coming for us? You have to tell us what you know! We can handle it." Thorben jumped slightly as Vin stood up abruptly in his chair glaring down on them like a red haired demon.

"You stupid brat!" Vin growled lowly, a sliver of moonlight creeping in through the window, "I don't have to do shit, so watch your mouth! Don't think just because I'm being nice I won't kick your ass from here to the Headmistress office for disrespect. I don't tell you anything because there is nothing you can do. This isn't some little game, serious killers are after my students and none of you have a chance in hell of beating them." Thorben averted his eyes angrily, furry ears turned low. Vin stomped to the door, roughly grabbing the doorknob but not opening it. Without looking back he said, "Don't be in such a hurry to prove yourself kid, people who have something to prove always end up dead before they can make themselves happy." With that he opened the door and left.

There was silence for a moment, the room seeming smaller. Even though the room was spacious, they could have been elbow to elbow for all Hickory cared. She was hyper aware of every breath, every shift of their bodies; at that moment she wasn't sure what her teammates were feeling verses what she was feeling. She could feel pressure in her throat, words threatening to burst like vomit from her lips but then the feeling was gone. Without commenting on the pure depression that settled over the group, Saffron laid her head down on her pillow and sighed graciously before falling asleep. Following her friends lead, Hickory laid her head down and felt her eyes scream for joy as she closed them. She was too tired to think, and there was no use worrying about these matters until tomorrow. Also, she needed to talk to Primus about Viola. The way the girl froze during the battle was extremely unlike her, yet Primus didn't seem surprised. Almost like he knew it would happen. Which didn't make sense; Viola was one of the top fighters of their year, her lack of performance on the field today was really out of character for her. Her body relaxed instantly, and she slept.

XXX

The cold air was unforgivingly sharp against his bare arms, and Primus almost berated himself for not putting on more clothes. In his pajamas, Primus gazed out over the campus from the roof of the dorm. It was tall enough to see over most of the major buildings, and being on the higher portion of campus was helpful. Goosebumps littered his pale skin as he leaned against the safety railing, staring longingly up at the sky. Gritting his teeth, Primus crushed his eyes closed as images of bodies splayed across his vision. Putting his face in his arms, he took deep breaths; the cold air invading his lungs was a welcoming distraction from memories he'd rather forget.

"Yo." Gripping the railing hard, Primus jumped slightly at the voice. Mark watched the other boy curiously with teal eyes. For such a cold night, Primus looked a bit sweaty.

"Dang it, Mark, I didn't even hear you come up the elevator." Scolding himself for his lack of awareness, Primus tilted his head back as he slid to the floor. The wind began to pick up as clouds rolled in from the north, pressing down on Mark's spikey brown hair. Striding over slowly, Mark grunted as he joined the other kid on the floor. It was a comfortable silence, almost unnervingly so.

The moon was low in the sky, signaling they would see the first rays of daylight soon enough. Exhaling lightly, Mark glanced over at his companion. Dark circles hung under Primus' reddening eyes.

"I don't know what I'm going to do, man." Primus' voice was filled with worry and exhaustion, like a man who was tired of trying climbing a wall he couldn't find a grip on. "They could have been killed because of me." He could hear echo's of the girl's laugh as she threatened to kill Hickory; so light yet so disgustingly confident.

"Don't dwell on that, Primus. The girl's are back and safe, it wasn't your fault." Although they were all alone, their conversation was no bigger than a whisper. Primus couldn't help but want to bare his soul to someone. After Headmistress Rangi swept them away to her office, all he could do was stare at the shell shocked Viola. His closest confidant and friend and she could have died tonight, and he would have been helpless to stop it. The grief was thick and guilt to heavy to bare.

"Doesn't matter whose fault it was, it happened. If I wasn't there they would be fine," Images of three blurred laughing faces, reaching their hand out to him invitingly. "They'd be fine." Mark patiently waited for Primus to ground himself.

"I get the feeling you're not talking about the girls." Mark sighed when Primus fell silent. Rubbing the back of his neck, Mark blinked quickly. "Look I know you don't know me very well and all, but you can tell me what happened if it'll help you sleep. I doubt Amber will be very happy when she finds out you stayed up to the crack of dawn." That got him a chuckle. Amber was a sweet girl, a bit too shy for Mark but a good person. She had these quick burst of confidence where she would boldly scold the others, giving them whiplash from her quick change in personality.

"Yeah, don't want that." Primus rested his eyes for a moment, "It's a long story."

"Shit, I've got time, I'm a bit too riled up to sleep anyway." Mark gave a wicked smile, embracing the chill that knocked against his face. Primus gave a small laugh, it wasn't often that someone other than Viola was so frank with him. One of the many downsides of being the heir of the Lune Dust Company.

"Its not like I had it bad, I just want to make sure I'm clear on that. My parents divorced when I was little, but I barely remember them being 'together' even when they were married so its not much of a loss. After the custody battle me and my sister ended up with my mom, but she lost most of her assets. Didn't see Dad too often in person after that, he always video calls and sends presents but he rarely visited; my grandparents said he was still bitter about losing custody. It wasn't too rough though, we moved in with my grandparents until I was sent to boarding school, I think I was eight or something. It was one of my dad's conditions for me to keep my position as his heir, so I went.

Fast forward a bit and everything's great. I'm top of my class, have great friends, and my parents are civil with each other." Pictures flashed though his eyes, pulling his mouth into a frown. "Everything was going so well, but of course that never lasts. My last year before starting my hunter training, my friends wanted to go trail after some older students who were going after a Grimm. It was stupid, but it was a dare so you know how that goes." There was silence for a moment, and Mark let it be. Taking in a shaky breath, Primus could feel wetness tickle his eyelashes, "I tried to warn them not to go, but eventually I gave in. They all died, and honestly that's all I want to say about it."

Primus couldn't get their screams of terror out of his head, the fading of their pleas as his younger self darted away from the area as fast as possible. Little legs pumping as hard as they could. Swallowing thickly, he pushed the grief down and whipped his hands over his eyes, effectively stopping his tears before they started. It was always a sore memory for him, something he really regretted doing.

"This was before you went to school to learn to be a hunter?" Mark didn't look at him, staring off into the distance. There was no judgment in his words, no pity or disappointment. Primus was grateful. He gave a dry laugh, putting a hand to his forehead as he stared up into the stars.

"That's why I wanted to become a hunter." It was a rather dark pause, almost depressingly sad in the revelation of Primus' words. Mark only nodded. Crossing his legs under him, Primus continued, "I've trained for years with some of the best people out there, but its still not enough."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Mark watched as the first ray of sunlight peaked over the mountain top, golden and bright as it welcomed the morning, "Its not your job to save or protect everyone man. We're hunters. We all know the risk. All of us can handle our own."

"Not yet, we still have so much to learn. None of us are ready for a real battle yet." The first bird started warming up as Primus slouched slightly against the railing.

"Don't think Viola would appreciate you saying that." Mark almost laughed, until he caught the frustrated look on Primus' face. Humming lightly, Mark waited for Primus to talk again and tried to ignore the fatigue that was pushing on his face. He slept a lot in the day so pulling an all nighter wasn't too bad; it was just annoying. Running through the events of the day, Mark almost groaned at the tension that he knew would rest on campus and his team for the next few days. Saffron would be sick and Hickory was a bit out of it. Then Thorben is one big pain in the ass when he's concerned about things, so they'd probably end up fighting, which would only stress out the girls even more. The moment lasted a bit longer than Mark participated, so he decided to probe even further, "Not to pry into your life or anything, but you two are really close, you related or something?"

"No, nothing like that," Primus rubbed his face in his hands, "She's my body guard." Raising an eyebrow, Mark opened his mouth than closed it before turning around to fully face Primus.

"Bodyguard? As in a trained fighter who is qualified to keep the heir to a Dust company safe?" Mark's skepticism was clear on his face. Viola was a good fighter no doubt, one of the best in their class if not the best, but compared to the adults she'd get creamed. Plus she was their age, so she couldn't be that experienced in real life combat. From what Hickory said earlier, Viola froze when the two strangers were attacking them, something a bodyguard should never do when the client is in danger.

"Yep," Primus read the incredulity on Mark's face before giving a genuine laugh, "I swear man, she really is. My grandparents hired her when I insisted on becoming a hunter. They weren't real big fans of it you see, so they wanted someone to keep me safe as I learned the ropes."

"But she's our age, and no offense to her or anything but she doesn't seem like the body guard type. Hickory said she froze in battle." Mark was not going to let up, it was rare that something peaked his curiosity this deeply, and Primus seemed more than willing to talk.

"Yeah she did," Primus nodded his head in conformation, "Viola's from a very long line of fighters, and their bodyguards for major Dust companies by trade. She's been training all her life to become a Huntress. My grandparents wanted someone who could go through all the training with me, so the Lapointe family nominated her. She's the most promising out of all of her cousins in the ring, but she has this thing where she just shuts down in real battle situations."

"Primus," Mark's voice was lower now, almost scolding, "That's serious, if she can't handle battle outside of a controlled environment then,"

"I know, I know, but if I send her back to her family they'll disown her. They hate hesitation more than anything, and probably label her a coward." There was silence between them as Mark processed this new information. While he understood Primus' reasoning, he couldn't help the untamed anger that rose in his chest. Freezing in battle was not an option in their line of work. The Grimm had no mercy, and would kill Viola with no remorse. Plus she would be a hazard to anyone fighting with her. Mark ran his fingers through his hair, birds chirping loudly now as the sun bathed over them. To make matters worse, Mark glanced up at Primus, Viola was in charge of guarding someone's life.

If it was up to Mark, he wouldn't let her fight anywhere near his team, she was too much of a risk, and he had no doubt that the others would be to distracted protecting her to watch their own backs. Yet, Mark said none of that. At the end of the day Primus was right, they were in training and they still had much to learn. Viola could learn to get over whatever was holding her back with time. At least, he really hoped so.

 **Thank you for reading, please review if you have a chance.**


	6. In Pieces

Hands on her knees, Saffron hunched over to catch her breath as sweat dripped down her chin. Her thick blonde hair was slightly stiff as it draped over her shoulders, creating an almost furnace like environment. Swallowing hard, Saffron leaned up, put her hands behind her head and took a deep breath. The high ceiling and open windows circulated the cool early afternoon air, signaling the first cold front of the season. Her muscles whined and her head throbbed as she walked to the side of the gym, and she wanted to berate herself for not getting a good breakfast before coming out here. After being cleared for training, Saffron headed straight for the track to run a few miles in the morning before heading over to the gym.

It was rather empty now, probably since dinner was in a few minutes. She knew she needed to head back and get washed up, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave. Crushing the plastic water bottle in her hands, Saffron exhaled slowly. It had been a long two days, and frankly she needed some time away from the team. She really liked her new teammates, especially Hickory the two of them got along like long lost sisters, but they were rather exhausting. With all the arguing, classes, lock down, and the lack of information, she was feeling drained.

"Ok, one more set of kicks and I'll call it a day." The promise brought a second wind as she strode onto the mat and crouched into place in front of a limbless dummy. With a small yell, her foot lashed out in a front kick, landing a solid thud on the dummies chest. Practicing the same kick over and over, her mind naturally wondered to escape the protest of her joints. Flashes of a black cloak made her next kick harder, the dummy actually falling back. Saffron paused for a moment before sighing as she moved to reposition her unfortunate punching bag.

For the past few hours the attack had been dominating her thoughts. The way the other girl had moved, so fast Saffron couldn't even see her physical form until it was too late. More than likely it was part of the girl's Semblance, but still, it was an annoying skill. Saffron felt a wad of angry depression wash over her at the thought of her defeat. Never had she been taken down so easily and so quickly.

"Not like I'm the best, but I'm not bad either." Muttering under her breath, Saffron switched to side kicks, her hips barely twisting as she refused to let her leg touch the ground between kicks. After fully realizing how easily she could have been killed that night, the distance between where she was and whom she hoped to be seemed impossibly far.

Grunting as she finished her last kick, Saffron let a small smile come over her as she lifted a fist in front of her face. It wasn't so bad, she would just have to continue to get stronger, and hope her best was enough. No matter how loud the mocking voice in the back of her head told her otherwise.

With a light hum she gathered up her things and lazily walked outside. The sun had long since gone down, and the last of the birds were settling in for the night. It wouldn't be long before they headed south to the tip of Vacou. Pulling out her Scroll, she shot a quick message to Hickory to tell her she'd arrive soon. Showering didn't take her too long if she skipped conditioning her hair. Taking the steps two by two up the dorm stairway, Saffron tried to cheer herself up; after all, no one liked a Debby Downer.

There was a slight bang, and Saffron raised an eyebrow as she watched Dawn slowly maneuver out of her team's room, the girl's purple hair swaying as she closed the door with a light click.

"Dawn?" The other girl jumped when Saffron called her name, making the blonde frown. She was pretty loud coming up the stairs, Dawn must have been completely out of it to not notice her. The two girls didn't know each other well, but she knew Dawn and Yuro occasionally hung out.

"Oh," Dawn ran her fingers though her hair, tugging slightly, "It's just you."

"Well yeah, but even if it wasn't you don't have to be so jumpy!" Forcing herself to smile, Saffron quietly approached Dawn. Honestly, Saffron didn't feel like making small talk, but she really didn't want to be rude. Dawn was one of the first girls Saffron met at Reverie, and while they didn't become best friends, they were still on friendly terms.

"Ha, I guess you're right. I was just worried you were Sherbet. She's been in the worst mood since the lock down." Dawn glanced quickly behind Saffron as if checking to make sure there was no one sneaking up on their conversation.

"I can't blame her, it seems everyone's getting a bit stir crazy. Anyway, how've you been since initiation?" the two girls chatted lightly before Saffron invited the other girl to wait while she took a shower, then at least they wouldn't have to show up alone. Unlike her, Dawn had lost the time while video chatting with her dad and was trying to avoid her team's scolding due to her tardiness. Showering quickly, Saffron threw on a basic outfit and ushered the other girl out the door.

"No offense, but you're team seems kind of lame." Saffron could sense Dawn's annoyance with her team just from their short talk and used that to keep the conversation going. The two girls walked as quickly as possible to the cafeteria, ignoring the chilling burst of wind and occasional bug.

"I know right!" Dawn threw her hands up, happy that someone finally understood her plight, "Don't get me wrong, they're cool and all, but they're way to uptight all the time. All work and no play, you know?"

"Well at least you guys seem to get along, my teams been having a rough time." Saffron gave a light laugh, then shivered as the cool air blew through her hair, chilling her to the bone. Man, maybe she should have waited to wash her hair.

"Oh yeah, I've heard about that. Thorben and Mark right?" Dawn tapped her finger to her chin, golden eyes glowing lightly in the dim light of the street lamps. Saffron almost faltered as her heart rate sped up. What did she mean she had heard about her team fighting? Did the entire school know, were they a joke? Dawn fought to keep her blush down. Teams were marketed as mini families, so it was imperative to not only their performance in school but to their overall survival that the team got along well. Only 'left over' teams fought, teams of students who didn't belong anywhere else. Did Dawn think she was an extra? Did the school think that she was a left over team? Saffron felt her heart skip a beat at the thought. Noticing the deep blush on Saffron's face, Dawn quickly clarified, "I mean, that's what Yuro was saying. Apparently your teams hang out a lot."

"Oh," Of couse, Saffron berated herself for losing her cool as she took a deep breath and let another smile onto her face. Of course, Dawn and Yuro were friends, so more than likely he would tell her what he couldn't tell his teammates, like how frustrating they could be. Wasn't she doing the same thing earlier, when she said the boys on her team didn't get along?

The girls pushed open the doors of the dining hall before waving as they parted ways. Saffron rubbed her hands together to knock off some of the cold as she headed towards Team MTHS and Team PAVY. Amber and Hickory were giggling as Yuro and Viola argued about one thing or another. That was new; Yuro rarely hung around long enough after dinner to start an argument.

"It's a team outing, Yuro, you can do at least one thing with us. Instead of running off like you always do." Viola sniffed lightly as she showed a cookie in her mouth, ignoring Yuro's annoyed stare.

"What are they going on about?" Saffron slid into her place next to Mark and across from Hickory, feeling the weight of her cylinder settle on the back of the bench. Mark shrugged, picking at what little bit was left over on his plate.

"I want Team PAVY to spend a day together doing the campus hiking trails since we can't leave campus. But Yuro, says he's busy," Sighing lightly, Amber fixed her ponytail as her teammates continued to bicker. In reality, she wasn't too surprised at Yuro's blatant refusal to spend time with them outside of school and combat training. He was always the perfect teammate in an academic or combat setting, but he seemed to have a firm line between his personal life and his professional life. Apparently, Team PAVY was in the professional section.

Glancing over at the quiet complacency of Team MTHS, Amber couldn't help the little bubble of jealously. While Mark and Thorben didn't always get along, rarely get along, the team had a rather close relationship. They bickered sure, but they stuck together and hung out after class. Even if it was something as simple as studying together in the library, team MTHS had a formation that her group was struggling to maintain.

Four man teams were created to not only improve the life expectancy of the newer fighters, but to also create a group of life long friends who could support each other through the physical and mental pains that came with being a hunter. When they graduated, Team PAVY should ideally stay together for at least a year or so, before breaking up. Even then, the group should stay in contact for the rest of their lives.

But it wasn't like that.

Ever since the incident with Primus, Viola had become a bit more irritable than usual. She was almost unbearable with her sharp comments and criticism. Amber wasn't dumb. It was obviously a way for Viola to hide her own insecurities now that the entire school knew she froze in a fight. There was nothing as laughable as a Huntress, the top one in her class no doubt, who was afraid of a real battle. While no one made any direct comments, Amber could see it in the way they looked at Viola; eyes filled with pity and mocking.

To top that off, now that they didn't have classes this week, Yuro had become a rarity at group meals or study hours. It was driving Viola crazy. Primus didn't say anything, but Amber could see the way he furrowed his brows or clench his fist a bit tighter when Yuro walked out the room in the mornings. Putting her fork down, Amber suppressed a groan of frustration, was she the only person without some kind of issues on this team?

XXX

"The city is seeing a spike in crime targeting Dust stores and cargo shipments. We've requested help from Atlas, but their having security problems of their own right now and have very little to spare." The man stood proudly in front of the grand wooden desk, his officers flanking his silently as the dark skinned woman in front of him put her folded fingers in front of her lips, eyes scrunched lightly. The cushy wooden chair overpowered her slim figure, and the general had to fight back a smirk. Arguably one of the strongest women of her generation, Headmistress Rangi was less than threatening.

"I've heard of Atlas' predicament. As one of the four kingdoms, they're assets are usually endless. The situation must be dire if they can spare none in a time of peace." Rangi leaned back in her chair, glancing up at the high ceiling. The room was exceedingly grand, stained glass windows and marble pillars; it was fit for a fairytale. Looking back at the man in front of her, Rangi sighed. Reverie Academy was located in the center of Dorado, an independent costal nation positioned on the northern tip of the island south of Mistral. Being separated so thoroughly from the other major nations, Dorado was allowed to prosper in times of peace while others fought political and civil wars. Rarely did the small nation of Dorado get involved with worldly politics, making it one of the safest places in the world for humans and faunas.

However, this also limited their military strength. While the distance created a natural barrier, they were a small population and the majority were civilians. It was one of the reasons the Dorado council established Reverie, to create a constant stream of soldiers; to protect the citizens of Dorado from the nations to the north and the Grimm to the south.

"The Council has proposed that Reverie staff work in conjunction with the the security division of Dorado for now." The general frowned lightly, "Hopefully things will calm down before the Vytal festival, but if not we'd better be prepared to tackle any potential threat." One of the guards coughed lightly, but Rangi ignored him. Tapping her finger on the table, she couldn't help but curse Vin for disappearing whenever a representative came with a message from the council.

She understood the general's precaution, but having the school work with the security division would be more than tiresome. The senior students would be more than ready for that level of combat, but the newer students had only just begun. Not to mention, they had missed class for almost a week now. If this new threat was anything like what Hickory, Saffron, Primus, and Viola faced then that was even more reason to keep the students out of the fight.

"I worry that the Council is acting to hastily, one little attack and a few robberies does not justify a full military armament. Think of the message that we're sending to the four kingdoms." Seeing the General's face warp into a look of annoyance, Rangi braced herself.

"I will worry what the great four kingdoms think when they are the ones facing serious threats against their population with limited military strength. We cannot afford to wait for a large scale attack. Dorado has only survived this long because of our precautionary military tactics, surely you must know this Headmistress." The General crossed his arms over his chest, puffing out like a taunted bird. A swift breeze of air blew across Rangi's face as the door was pushed open, and Vin's hard boots crossed the marble floor with a comforting frequency. Turning quickly, the General resisted the urge to groan loudly at the uninvited presence, but did roll his eyes.

"Late as always I see, Mr. Rosso." The clipped tone did nothing to hinder Vin's obviously good mood, as he flashed a devious smirk as he sat partially on Rangi's desk, leaning back on his hands.

"Nice to see you too, Harold."

"General Whitefield, if you don't mind." General Harold Whitefield's jaw was locked in a firm frown as Vin scoffed at his, Rangi waving away their growing bickering with little care.

"Gentleman please, this is a serious matter we must discuss." Rangi gave Vin a light push, forcing him off the desk. Now standing like a proper adult, Vin shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I agree, Headmistress." General Whitefield cleared his throat, adam's apple bobbing lightly, "Now as I was saying, the Council has requested your cooperation in preparing your students for Dorado military procedures and operations, at least until the threat is past." Rangi was quiet for a moment, only the chirping of the last remaining birds outside her window.

"My students will be prepared when the time comes, for now, inform the Council that I will not be offering my students' services. Not until there is a serious need for an army of that size." Rangi nodded her head, satisfied with her answer.

"Headmistress, I advise you to reconsider. This is only a precaution, but it is better to be over prepared than caught unaware." Genral Whitefield took a step closer to her desk, "The Council has already issued as official order for your cooperation, please don't make this difficult."

"It is not difficult General. The Council has requested my help and I will not give it. And that's the end of that." Rangi didn't flinch when General Whitefield slammed his fist on her desk, her books jumping lightly and a pen rolled off the desk. Watching with murderous eyes, Vin didn't move as the General leaned closer, Rangi could feel his fuming breath on her face.

"That is not your decision to make, Headmistress." His voice was gritty and low, "Remember that our school and military are connected as one, just as it is in Atlas, therefore you have no right to deny an order from the Council. Do not mistake pleasantries for options!"

"And I would remind you, General Whitefield, that the Council must have the approval of the Grand Parliament before performing an act of war, which includes mobilizing the Academy." Rangi pushed her chair back with a light scrape against the floor and pulled herself to her full height. It was nothing in comparison to the General's massive size. "And since I am on the Grand Parliament due to my position of Headmistress, I am aware that it has not been called in the past seven years."

General Whitefield scowled at her, all hints of his former polite pleasantries gone and replaced with the inflexible man that was hiding all along. It was no secret that the two were far from friendly with one another, their philosophies were too different. General Whitefield backed away slowly from the desk, sneering as he turned his back to the Headmistress and stomped out the door, his guards darting after him like loyal dogs. With one hand on the door, he paused and turned to look at the Headmistress. Her eyes were bright and proud as her shoulders stood square and head held high. As if she knew the dangers that waited ahead and was ready to meet them head on. Shaking his head lightly, the General called out his parting words.

"You're foolish false sense of peace will be the doom of Dorado, Headmistress Rangi, mark my words. When the nation is attacked and your students are unprepared you will have no one to blame but your imprudent ways."

XXX

"You know, if I wanted to be found, I would have told my teammates where to find me." Wind violently tossed his hair out of his face, the thick, pillow like, grey clouds in the North rolling in a vicious storm. Yuro's legs dangled over the rocky cliff with little care, small pebbles tumbling down as he kicked his legs back and forth.

"You've never told me to leave." The voice playfully jabbed as the girl sat down next to him, legs tucked to her chest as he chin rested on her knees. Deciding not to dignify her with a reaction, he let the silence settle between them. They sat overlooking the campus on one of the smaller mountains, a hidden spot on one of the many campus-hiking trails.

Breathing in deeply, Yuro welcomed the calming freeze of the first cold front in his lungs. The birds were quieting down as they prepared for the oncoming storm, and bugs crept down into their burrows. Licking his lips, Yuro leaned forward, his uneven white bangs shadowing his eyes as he glanced at his not totally unwanted company.

Dawn had been an inconsistent presence during nights like this. She'd show up only after sunset on random nights, golden orange eyes shining with fatigue and short purple hair messier than she would have liked it. They never really talked, a few simple conversations here and there, but she, like him, was there for the view and time to reflect without the chaos of the crowd.

There was a sudden brightness as Dawn pulled out her Scroll, and Yuro resisted the urge to roll his eyes. She was ruining the peaceful atmosphere.

"Hm, looks like classes will start back up tomorrow." She tapped something in quick before pushing the small device back into her pocket.

"That's good, I've been getting restless with all this free time." Yuro admitted, looking back out over the campus. The last few students were leisurely walked back to their dorms, uninterested in the brewing storm only miles away. Standing up with a small grunt, he dusted his pants off before offering a hand to his companion. "We should head back, the storm will hit in an hour at most." Scoffing, she took his hand and hoisted herself up.

"Free time? Don't tell me your team has been slacking all this time? Don't you guys want to compete in the Vytal Festival?" Dawn gazed at him questioningly as he stared straight ahead, watching the path to avoid any protruding roots. Blinking slowly, Yuro thought back to his team. That's right, the Vytal Festival was coming up soon, and they had yet to even discuss if they would try for one of the two spots to represent Reverie Academy. Well, Yuro thought as guilt overcame, they might have while he was away.

No doubt they would have wanted to before the attacks, but now, with Viola's pride wounded and Primus on constant alert, he was unsure of their opinion on the matter. He knew he would enjoy the chance to fight some of the most talented kids of his generation from different parts of Remnant. Amber would more than likely agree with whatever the rest of them wanted, as was her timid nature, even if she protested on the inside.

"I'm not sure," he answered honestly as the trail opened up, the gravel pathway turned to marble as they walked under the soft light of the street lamps back to their dorm. "My team has been rather tense lately."

"Oh yeah, I heard what happened to Primus and Viola. Is everything ok?" Dawn yawned, before blinking rapidly to clear the water from her eyes.

"Yeah, we're fine." Were they though? Its not like Yuro was around much to find out. In fact, he couldn't even remember the last time he had a real conversation with any of his teammates, if ever.

"That's good," Was all she said before giving him a gentle smile and disappearing down the hall. Watching her go for a moment, Yuro unlocked the door to his own room. Amber laid on her bed reading a thick textbook quietly, her long black hair tied up in a messy bun as she settled in for the night. Primus and Viola were sitting on the floor, lazily playing one of their many game consoles. Thunder cracked as soon as he closed the door, and the building gave a small shake.

"Welcome back, Yuro," Primus threw him a warm smile, "You made it just before the storm hit." He turned back to the screen, pressing the buttons furiously as Viola's character sped past his. Giving a whine of disbelief, Primus gave his all as Viola crackled madly, throwing trap after trap behind her.

"How long have they been playing?" Walking to his closet, Yuro pulled out his night wear.

"Almost three hours," Amber didn't look up from her book, "Primus hasn't won a single game yet."

"Not true!" Primus called out indignantly, they could almost hear the pout in his voice, "I beat her at Mega Combat!"

"Only because my Scroll died!" Viola laughed as she blew past the finish line, Primus nowhere in sight. Stretching out, she picked herself off the ground and flopped onto her bed as the springs squeaked under her weight. Smiling lightly at Primus protest, Yuro gave Amber a knowing look as she rolled her eyes. Not wanted to waste time, Yuro quickly did his nightly routine before shutting off the bathroom light and sitting on his bed, legs crossed. The room had calmed down in the small amount of time he was gone, Primus played on his scroll as Viola brushed her hair. It was a simple scene, almost deceptively so.

"We start classes tomorrow," He said simply, green eyes blinking slowly as sleep crept up on him.

"I know, its kind of sudden, but I'll be happy to get back to the routine." Primus admitted, flipping over to his stomach as he reached the next level. Dang Beowolves always popping out of nowhere.

"Yeah, the break was nice, but I can't wait to get back to normal." Amber closed her book lightly, shoving it to the end of the bed where her feet couldn't reach in her sleep.

"Speak for yourselves," Viola muttered, not loud enough for anyone to hear, but loud enough for herself. She was in no rush to be around the snickers of the other students after they heard of her slip up.

"Are we," Yuro paused as he thought about Dawn before continuing, "Going to try for a spot at the Vytal Festival?" The room paused for a moment, and Yuro patiently waited for an answer. With everything going on, he doubted they even remember the Festival coming up in the spring, after all the winter was just rolling in. However, Reverie usually picked its representatives early, and those students were given specialized training in private for the rest of the semester. Headmistress Rangi always wanted to make a good impression, the school had a reputation to keep after all.

"I would like too, but I'm honestly not sure if we're ready." Primus stole a glance at Viola, but said nothing more. Freezing in battle was a serious problem, but Viola did well in controlled matched, so it wasn't something Primus would need to worry about with the Vytal festival.

"Maybe we should," Yuro raised his eyebrow as Amber pitched in, countering Primus' answer, "After all it's a good chance to get some real battle experience, and its great for your resume." That was true, many potential employers came to the Vytal Festival looking for future recruits.

"Yeah," Primus agreed, putting his scroll down, "Honestly I haven't been to Vale in a long time, I wouldn't mind going."

"It'd be a good way to get private training too, I heard that Professor Lucent will be in charge of the training this year." Viola put her brush down before braiding her hair in a loose braid for the night.

"We've still got a few weeks before try outs start, so lets just go to bed for now. We can talk about this later," Primus yawned, laying his head down in his pillow. Muttering their goodnights, the last lamp in the room went out as the first strike of lightning hit.

Amber snuggled deeper into her covers, thinking back on the small moment her team had only moments ago. It was light hearted but thoughtful. With a small smile on her face, Amber let sleep overtake her. Maybe her team wasn't so bad off after all.

XXX

Crates and metal cylinders were packed into the sturdy metal train, the workers quickly performing their task in the hopes of getting home before daybreak. Broken concrete buildings exposed sections of their metal frames to the elements as they towered over the loading platform. The destroyed city was bustling with activity as the last load was prepared for delivery. Wearing dark blue uniforms and black mask that covered the lower half of their faces, humans and faunas like worked in unison under the broken shards of the moon.

The birds had long since fled to the south, not because of the change in the seasons, but out of fear of the suffocating atmosphere that arose from the diligent workers. No one was smiling, but all were happy.

There was a breeze and everyone froze. The sharp click of combat boots crunched against the cracked roads as a cape blew out behind an imposing man, his face covered by the shadow of his hood. There was a moment of silence as the person paused, before removing his hood. He couldn't help but smile at the picture of everyone dropping to one knee to bow before him as he walked by.

A faunas, with thin antennas that resembled a bee's antenna, quickly approached him before giving a stiff bow. Her antennas flopped forward lightly as she welcomed him to the Northeastern base.

"Is this the final shipment?" His voice was deep and slightly scratchy, as if he was parched. The girl looked at her clipboard to verify what she already knew what was true; it never hurt to be too careful. That is why she was chosen to manage this base.

"Yes, sir. We'll be done for the night after this transport leaves the station. We've just received conformation that we won't be getting another shipment for another week or so, therefore I plan to send some of my men out for more supplies. Is that acceptable?" Of course it was, everything she did was acceptable. The man hummed lightly and walked passed her, none of the workers moving to stand even if their knees were beginning to hurt. Not even the bugs moved as he stalked down the side of the train, glancing into each boxcar with little concern.

Pausing, the man pulled out his Scroll as a simple ring went off, echoing in the ghost town. Pressing accept, in order to receive the call, he smirked lightly at the name on the screen. Finally, some news. Waving the faunas away, he moved away from the workers, allowing them to get back to business.

"Well?" Was all he said as he leaned against one of the buildings. Peering inside, he counted a few tables and a bar. More than likely an abandon restaurant from this towns glory days.

"We were unsuccessful in our attempt to capture the Lune heir, sir." The voice was stiff, but not fearful. It did not offend him, this was after all one of his favored subordinates, they feared his wrath a bit less than everyone else, but only a bit.

"Oh? Well, how are you going to fix it?" That was it, no yelling, no questions, no reprimanding. They knew they were wrong, and they were going to fix it. End of story. The voice on the other end paused.

"We don't know." The once strong caller was now almost pathetically lost, almost childlike in his admission, "That's why we called you." The man let out a mocking laugh, as the voice on the other end continued, "They're restarting the school, and security on the campus has increased. The Headmistress is expecting us. We can't do anything without risking a big fight."

"Hush, boy." The man chuckled, looking up at the moon with a lazy interest. So his elite team failed then? How disappointing, but still, nothing that was too bothersome, "Stay low for now, I'll give you another opening. Wait for my signal and strike hard, no mercy." With that he ended the conversation. Walking back over to the train, he approached the second boxcar with little distraction and stared inside. Four young bodies sat tied up, staring at him fearfully with their mouths gagged. Eco Viondis sporting a rather nasty bruise on her neck from their previous encounter. Giving them a small smile, the man slid the boxcar closed, shutting off any access to light.

"We are ready to depart, sir, is everything to your standards?" The bee faunas popped up again, and he resisted the urge to snap her neck. What an annoying little insect she was, always asking him questions she knew the answer to. With a nod, the young lady yelled at the workers and the train powered up. The man watched as the train pulled away. Things were going smoothly, now, to get a few more pieces in place.

 **Thank you for reading. Please review if you have time. Also I'm going to be opening the SYOC back up for minor characters during the Vytal Festival and a few antagonist soon. More than likely it will officially open within the next two chapters. Please tell your friends to submit characters when I ask for them! Or feel free to submit another if you already have one in the story.**


	7. Wasps' Nest

"Now, now, don't be so downtrodden! You had a full week off of classes, so there's no reason to look so miserable!" Proffesor Talcun glanced back with a smile as she weaved her way up the mountain, her weary students trudging along behind her. Placing a light brown hand on the base of a tree as her bangles clanked together, she quickly surveyed the area with dark grey eyes before nodding in approval, "this is a good spot," and with that she crossed her legs under her and took a seat. The area was rather open, but enclosed by large trees and thick bushes on each side. It was more than enough for the students to sit a comfortable distance away from each other, and a similar size to one of the campus classrooms.

"It's a shame that there are so few travel vehicles designated for the mountain side. This hike could have been far more enjoyable if there were." Hickory muttered as she settled down. The group traveled almost three miles away from the campus at the base of the mountain to get to this spot. A small wisp of excitement bubble up in her stomach, as Professor Talcun began her short introduction to the lesson. Next to her, Thorben was painstakingly trying to take notes on the major points, but Professor Talcun had a rather roundabout way of speaking, it took her far to long to get to the important details.

The air was still on the forest floor, and Hickory couldn't help but thank her lucky stars that there wasn't any wind today. It was a comfortable cold, one that soothed her lungs and made her huddle slightly closer to Mark to get rid of any shivering that came from sitting still too long.

"Today you'll be testing your semblances against actual Grimm that I have captured and prepped for you, one by one." She raised up one finger and waved it side to side, "There will be no points for weapon usage. I will be grading you solely on your ability to control your semblance in a combat situation. Remember we have been learning about the necessity of control safety and control on the battle field, it is paramount that every Hunter or Huntress on the battlefield is in control of themselves at all time in order to prevent becoming a danger to their comrades or to themselves. Some of your Semblances will be more combat oriented than others, but all can be utilized to assist you in your mission to defeat the Grimm," she continued on, pacing slowly back and forth in front of them. Drumming her fingers on the grass, Hickory let a small smile cross her face.

It was always fun to see what a person's Semblance would be, and how they used it in conjunction with their weapon. A weapon was only as effective as its wielder, therefore it was important each weapon was specially tailored to its holder. No two weapons on earth were exactly alike, because there were no two people who were exactly alike. Hickory loved that about weapons. It wasn't about who could make the coolest or most advanced weapon, it was about making a weapon best suited to the Hunter.

"To take the awkwardness out of this, I've randomly assigned you in order. But don't get your hopes up, everyone will go today, so be ready!" With that she shooed everyone to the jagged outer rim of the clearing. Looking to her left, Saffron stood with a giant grin on her face, almost dancing with excitement. Hickory could feel the anticipation in the air, and it was the most energizing thing she felt all day!

"Why couldn't we just do this in the practice ring again?" Mark grumbled, digging his sneakers into the dirt. Elbowing him lightly, Thorben gave an annoyed sigh but decided not to give a full answer. That was something to grateful for, Hickory rubbed her furry ears lightly, at least they were behaving today.

Clapping her hands together once, Professor Talcun pulled up a list on her scroll, "Mr. Khan Shere, you're first."

Hickory bit her lip as a tall, muscular faunas stalked into the middle of the field, her mouse influence instincts warning her lightly in the back of her head as his orange and black tail curled from side to side. Taking in a breath, she berated herself sharply. She of all people knew better than to judge someone based upon their animal features. Even if he was her natural predator. She interacted with Khan a few times, and he never did anything to make her feel uncomfortable. They talked once, when they were partnered together for a quick assignment that was due at the end of the class. He was smart, got the work done, and never spoke to her again.

Professor Talcun tapped a button on her scroll and a metal cage came flying through the air, landing with a harsh bang next to her. Inside was a small Ursa that banged its head against the bars with a furious roar. Whispers went up around the students as Professor Talcun carefully placed her hand on the latch, raising an eyebrow at Khan. Nodding slowly, Khan secured his weapons, a metal three-pronged claw, on each of his knuckles before slipping into a slight crouch.

The latch was ripped open, and the Ursa rolled out. Shaking its head, it focused on the tiger faunas in a ready stance and charged ahead. Khan flipped over the Ursa, sliding back a bit as he hit the ground. Changing directions in an instant, the Ursa swiped at his legs. Instead of moving back, Khan jerked his leg to the side, blocking the Ursa's arm and then landing a solid kick to the beast's face. Whining angrily, the beast righted itself and charged again. Hickory watched as Khan, with no expression on his face, cut the air with his hand, and a dark orange light swirled behind him. He stepped back, the light was gone and so was Khan.

"Where did he go?" Thorben was fully invested in the fight now, as his green eyes darted across the clearing. The Ursa frantically turned in circles, frustrated when it couldn't find its prey. There was another shock of light, and Khan fell from the sky, stabbing his claws into the Ursa's head as he straddled the beast. Black petals floated away as Khan yanked his fist out of the beast's skull casually, before kicking the body away.

"Wow, what just happened?" Saffron couldn't contain the awe in her voice. She'd never seen a semblance quite like that before. Khan took down that Ursa like it was nothing.

"Wonderful work, Khan." Proffesor Talcum nodded proudly at the young boy, "You can return to your seat now," She waited for him to rejoin his team. Deciding to stare a bit, Hickory felt like scolding herself again as she watched Dawn give him a knowing smile as he settled down next to her and the rest of Team DSCK. Khan was on Dawn's team, duh, she already knew that. Now she felt even worse.

"I wonder what training school he went to," Thorben pulled up grass as his mind began to wonder.

"You could always ask him. Asking personal questions is always a good way to make new friends. Its always nice to have friends." Hickory didn't falter as Thorben threw her an odd look, which she had become all too familiar with. He often pointed out that she had an odd line of thinking, and it was probably due to hitting herself in the head one to many times with a wrench.

"Now class, can anyone explain to me what they learned about Khan's semblance?" Silence, and Professor Talcun sighed, "Khan's Semblance gives him the ability to create temporary portals to transport him short distances, allowing him to surprise his enemy." There were mutters around the class, but she only clapped her hand once to silence them. With a flip of her hand, her bangles clanked together, "Now, lets move on." With that she began to call out the next person. The class was only made up of sixteen students from four teams, Team MTHS, Team PRNC, Team DSCK, and another team Hickory wasn't familiar with yet. They tended to keep to themselves, and rarely associated with anyone else.

"Alright, Mark Sarcelle your turn please." The Professor called yet another metal cage using her scroll as Mark stood up and slowly walked to his place on the field. There was a slight chilly wind blowing in his face, but it wasn't anything major. "Are you ready, Mark?" Giving her a nod, and smiling slightly at Saffron's whoop of encouragement, Mark unsheathed his gunblade. This Ursa, unlike the others, didn't rush him the moment it was free. It took in its surroundings with hallow red eyes, before finally focusing on Mark. Tearing forward, the Ursa jumped up, attempting to maul Mark's face. Bringing his gunblade up, Mark pushed back as the Ursa's claws clashed with the blade, the beast pressed down heavily in an attempt to overpower Mark. Giving a slight grunt, Mark forced the beast away, jumping back a bit to give himself some more moving room. The Ursa growled as it stalked forward, tense this time, and Mark positioned his blade in front of him, two hands on the handle. Taking a deep breath, Mark blinked slowly and his eyes turned from their usual teal to a dusky purple.

Everything was so sharp and focused. He could see the fire ants crawling up the tree on the other side of the field; each individual hair on their legs, each cell that made up that hair. It was if the world was moving slower, every living thing, moving a moment slower than it was supposed to. As the Ursa charged forward, Mark could see impulses from the brain travel down the nervous system and into the muscles. Sliding his foot forward, Mark brought his gunblade to the side, the dust chamber clicked as the blade was covered in a white glow. Slashing upward, Mark stayed crouched for a moment as the two halves of the Ursa's body fell past him.

Blinking again, his semblance faded and the world became blurred again. With a sigh, he sheathed his weapon and looked to Professor Tulcan for approval.

"Excellent work, Mark. It's always a treat when I get to see a Semblance that focuses on enchanting one's natural physical abilities. You're transcript wasn't very descriptive, so correct me if I'm wrong, but your semblance allows you're vision to enhance itself to the accuracy and focus of a microscope, which allows you to see the biological indications of an attack before they happen correct?" Mark gave a small smile and nod as she continued to praise him, before shooing him back to his seat.

"Good grief," Mark laid back on the grass and closed his eyes, disregarding the exasperated look Thorben threw him. Two other names were called before Professor Tulcan yelled for Saffron. It took everything in the blonde not to skip to the middle of the field, flamethrower at the ready. Giving a small smile at the obvious enthusiasm, Proffessor Tulcan called for another cage and freed the Ursa. Once again, unaware of the mistakes of the other Grimm, the Ursa charged Saffron. Jumping to the side, Saffron gasped as the beast was on her again, forcing her to dart to the side the moment she landed. These things didn't seem as fast when she was sitting down.

Her feet dug into the thinning grass as she slid to a stop, sheathing the nozzle of her flamethrower before flipping back to avoid another hit. The moment her feet touched the floor, a neon yellow glyph in the shape of a triangle, made of a diamond and two small triangles, spun at her feet. Taking a deep breath, Saffron pulled the glyph up to her waist as the Ursa charged her. Stepping to the side, Saffon watched as the triangle melted and covered her body in a light yellow glow, creating the silhouette of an elephant over her for a moment before fading, leaving her skin sparkling.

Charging forward, Saffron met the Ursa head on, pulling her fist back she let out a roar. Her knuckles slammed into the white shell of the Ursa's face, shattering the bonelike material as the rest of the body went flying backwards. Splattering as soon as it hit the thick trunk of a tree, the Ursa began to vaporize.

"Yes!" Saffron pumped her fist into the air, and turned with a hopeful gleam in her eye. The students sat shell shocked, as Professor Talcun clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh, how long it's been since I've seen a glyph based Semblance." She waved Saffron away and turned to address the rest of the students, "Glyph Semblances are one of the rarer types of abilities. It's usually a trait that is passed down through the father to the child, however there are cases of glyph semblances appearing in random children. Saffron, does your semblance run in your family?"

Saffron's face went blank for a moment before she gave an apologetic smile, "Don't know, Professor Talcun, I was adopted." Hickory gave her a quick look as Saffron scratched her elbow. Proffessor Talcun nodded sharply.

"Very well, dear. Anyway class, I know we didn't get to talk much about Glyph Semblances in class, but take notes because what I say now will possibly be on the upcoming exam." Thorben picked up the notebook he put down earlier and poised his pencil on the paper, ready to take notes, "Glyph Semblances allow the user a wider range of abilities than a typical Semblance. Most are elemental based, but there are a few that are based upon the metaphysical. For example, Saffron's semblance would fall into the metaphysical category. It allows her to cloak herself in a yellow light that grants her the physical abilities of the animal she chooses for a short amount of time. The image that you saw at her feet is what is used to channel her ability into her body, and into the body of others. That is one of the major benefits of the glyph semblance; it can be shared with others. Now, Saffron could you explain the expanses and limitations of your semblance with the class?"

"Well," Saffron said slowly and tapped her finger to her chin, "Like you said, I can take the abilities of different animals. However, I can only do one animal at a time, and some animals are more tiring than others. If I place my Semblance under or around another person, they can take on that animals abilities. But I can only do one person at a time. That's all I've figured out for now."

"Wonderful, just wonderful. We'll have to work further on discovering the other gifts of your semblance because I'm more than sure that you can do far more than you realize." Professor Talcun looked at her watch, and clicked her tongue; she'd have to move along and save this lesson for later. "Alright, moving on, Thorben its your turn."

"I would love too Professor Talcun, however, I must decline," Thorben said lightly, never looking up from his paper.

"Oh really now, and for what reason?" She was obviously irritated by the answer, and crossed her arms over her chest as she tapped her foot on the grass. Hickory swallowed thickly; Professor Talcun was a nice woman but a very strict teacher. She wouldn't hesitate to fail Thorben if she felt like her lessons were being disrespected.

Sighing in defeat, Thorben put down his notes and gave her charmingly, apologetic smile. "My apologies Professor, but I'm afraid my Semblance isn't suited for combat against the Grimm. Just as we learned before the break, some Semblances are better suited for fighting other people rather than Grimm, and I happen to fall into that category." Thorben explained patiently, but that didn't sooth the heavy frown on Professor Talcun's face. Pulling up her clipboard, she flipped to one of the pages in the back. It listed all of the student's basic Semblance abilities, drifting her fingers over the names; she stopped at Thorben Sage quietly before giving a sharp nod with her head.

"Well, there's a teaching moment here regardless. Come now, you don't get out of this just because your Semblance isn't suited for Grimm," Professor Talcan looked around the clearing and pointed to another boy, "Wren Maluridea, would you spar with Thorben." She clearly was not asking, so the kid scoffed as he got to his feet. Standing on opposite sides of the field, the boys watched each other curiously. Thorben stood proudly, a slight grin on his face as he waited for the match to start. Running his hands up his electric blue Mohawk, Wren sneered as his teammates cheered boorishly from the sideline. They threw taunts and jeers at Thorben, only stopping when Professor Talcan threw them a harsh glare.

"Man, Team WSZP is seriously getting on my nerves." Mark said irritably, throwing a side ways glare towards one of the ruder teammates.

"Team WSZP?" Hickory echoed, her ears twitching slightly. Mark nodded and crossed his legs under him, hoping to find a more comfortable way to sit on the grassy ground.

"Yeah, they're a bunch of assholes. They don't listen to anyone and always sneak out. I mean, don't get me wrong, I sneak out sometimes too, but they're going to some real sketchy places." Mark hunched over slightly, finally comfortable. Leaning over slightly to get another look at Team WSZP, Hickory locked eyes with a pink eyed girl with silver hair in a witch like dress. Rolling her eyes at Hickory, the girl threw up her middle finger, smiling when Hickory's eyes darted away.

"Alright you two, standard regulation sparing rules apply here." Professor Talcun gave the signal for them to start. Wren yanked the excessively large sword off his back, swinging it over his shoulder and waiting patiently.

"I'm gonna wipe that royal smirk off your face." Wren charged forward with a deafening roar, swinging at Thorben. Smile still on his face, Thorben lazily stepped out of the blades path, a blast of air tossing up his hair as the sword past. The dance continued; Thorben barely moving out of Wren's attacks as the swings got faster and faster.

"My, my, what horrible form you have." Thorben hummed, ducking under a swing aimed for his head. Snarling, Wren switched his grip on the handle and jumped up swinging downwards. Skipping out of the way, Thorben's smiled vanished as Wren gave a victorious smile and let out a piercing screech.

Hickory crossed her arms in front of her face as a blast of compressed air accompanied the sharp wail that exploded from Wren's mouth. Squinting, she could almost see the sound waves as they moved through the air.

Thorben grunted, kneeling down behind his shield as the sound paralyzed him on the spot. The force slowly faded enough for Thorben to stand, and Wren started panting, his eyes looking baggy. Seeing an opening, Thorben rushed forward, keeping his shield to the side, he brought up a fist. Wren's moves were almost lethargic as he moved to block the shower of punches and kicks. Grunting, Wren stumbled as more and more hits got through. He couldn't do this, Thorben was too fast, he couldn't react fast enough.

"Enough! That's all I needed to see, thank you." Talcun curtly called the match, each boy instantly dropping their stances and backing away. Wren felt his lungs open up and scorching anger overcome him as he saw that Thorben still had that nauseating smile on his stupid face.

"You bastard, you didn't even use your Semblance!" Wren strapped his sword back onto his back, still breathing heavily. With one inhale his body was flooded with relief, and his muscles relaxed as a soothing calm washed over him. Freezing, Wren gave Thorben a suspicious look as Thorben continued smiling.

"Calm down, Wren," Talcun ordered, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder, "Sit down so I can continue to teach!" Begrudgingly, Wren stomped over to his team, who said nothing of his defeat. Team MTHS were silent as Thorben returned to his spot, but Saffron nudged him with a small smile. Leave it to Thorben to prove himself with actions rather than his words.

"Nice job, man," Mark shrugged his shoulders, and gave Thorben a slight smile, which Thorben happily returned. Its not that Team MTHS and Wren's team, Team WSZP, didn't get along. Well, it partially was. More like Mark and Thorben didn't get along with them, because Team WSZP was known through the school for being hellions and bullies. Hickory wasn't very involved with school gossip, and Saffron got along with everyone. So only Mark and Thorben felt a zap of joy at seeing one of Team WSZP's members beaten so stunningly.

" Alright, so let's start with Wren's semblance," Proffessor Tulcan breathed, " Wren's Semblance allows him to release a vociferous sound wave accompanied with a forcefully chamber of wind. It's a wonderful semblance for fighting flying Grimm, however, when fighting humans, its an attack that would best be followed up imminently with a strong hit while the enemy is still recovering from the blast," Proffessor Tulcan made a quick quip about Wren needing to spend more time honing his control, but moved on before he could retort, "Now to Thoben's semblance. Now, I know many of you might be confused, since this isn't one of the Semblance types we learn in this semester so I'll do my best to put it as carefully as possible. Thorben's semblance is the ability to manipulate emotions, but since Grimm have no soul nor any emotion, his abilities would be ineffective. However, its nearly undetectable in humans, because a person is unable to separate their actual emotions from the suggestion Thorben has placed in their mind. It's a bit of a double edged sword though, because Thorben is constantly feeding off the emotions of those around him, meaning his emotions can be swayed if he isn't careful. Hunters with semblances like this typically go into undercover work or kingdom police agencies to hunt and capture rogue hunters rather than fighting Grimm in the fields." Talcun explained, pulling her scroll out of her satchel to check the time. Sighing slightly, she scolded herself for using so much time explaining, they would only have enough time for one or two more students. The others would just have to wait.

"Hey, I got a message about the Vytal festival. Looks like Reverie is taking two teams to the festival this year." Mark tapped out of the message on his scroll, sliding it back into his pocket as Talcun called up the next student.

"That's weird, I thought we could only take one since we're not a part of the three kingdoms." Saffron hummed, running her fingers through her hair and gently separating the knots. Mark shrugged, lazily watching his classmate fight the Grimm. He was having a bit of trouble.

"I think its because Vale is experiencing some economic issues with all the robberies and kidnapping. They're losing a lot of money since big business are pulling their kids out, and Dust prices are through the roof. More than likely they're using this as an opportunity to boost spending and help out the local store owners." Thorben explained, barely watching as the kid fighting, a member of team PRNC, fell flat on his butt.

"Its such a shame. His weapon is so well made, but it's a bad match with him." Hickory shook her head sadly, as the boy just barely beat the Grimm. His small dagger and chain were clumsy in his hand. More than likely something passed down than something he made himself, even from here she could see the wear and team on the metal that only came from decades of bad maintenance.

"Well whatever the reason, it just gives us a better chance at qualifying." Mark was determined to make it to Vytal festival, if for no other reason than to get his mother to stop nagging.

"Hickory Dock, you're going to be the last one for today." Hickory scrambled to her feet as Proffessor Talcum called the next cage, "The rest of you will go next class, so meet up here instead of our usual classroom. Depending on how much time we have left, I'll either let you go early or we'll work on combining semblances."

Hickory felt her ear twitch towards the cage as the small Ursa inside shook itself from side to side. Pulling out her pocketwatch, Hickory looked back at her team. Saffron gave her a toothy grin as she unhooked her weapon from her back and put it beside her, rubbing her back slightly.

"Ready?" Talcun didn't wait for Hickory to say yes before the cage door flung open and the Ursa lumbered out, almost drunk like. Shaking its head, it focused on Hickory and let out an intimidating scream before charging. Pulling out her pocketwatch, Hickory tossed it at the tree branch above her. The clock wound the wire around the study wood, and Hickory let it pull her up, the Ursa passing just under her toes. Dropping back down, Hickory rolled to the side to avoid the Ursa's claws passing over her head. Putting her hand up, Hickory looked at Saffron's flamethrower and concentrated. Her teammate didn't even flinch as the flamethrower went flying and knocked the Ursa upside the head, spraying a blast of white fire onto the Grimm's body. The beast roared, and charged again. Hickory flipped over the beast, and grabbed Saffron's flamethrower, listening to the gears clink under her finger tips. Grabbing the nozzle, Hickory aimed for the Ursa's face, steadying herself as the weapon's recoil knocked her back a bit. The fire singed her face a bit as it roared out of the machine. It was more focused, the stream more concentrated in Hickory's hands. The Ursa stumbled a bit, before falling to its side, little more than a large block of disintegrating charcoal.

"Yeah, go Hickory!" Saffron yelled, giving Hickory a thumbs up as the girl turned around and gave her a sheepish smile. Professor Talcun quickly shooed the girl back to her seat and quickly wrapped up the lesson. Handing Saffron back her weapon, Hickory calmed her beating heart.

"Good job, Hickory. Her semblance is based upon technology, allowing her to manipulate the gears inside and move the objects at will if she has manipulated them before. I'm guessing you must have fiddled with each of your teammates weapons by now, yes? Therefore, she would be able to manipulate any of these weapons at any time. Ok, I know that explanation was a bit vague, but we're out of time, and I have a teacher's meeting to attend this afternoon, so you're all dismissed." Professor Talcun reminded everyone of the quiz coming up before shooing everyone back down the path as she stayed behind.

The class stayed relatively close together, teams mingling about the different battles and semblances, although the fight between Wren and Thorben took center stage.

"I would have won that fight if we didn't have to follow standard regulation, I had to hold back my swings." Wren declared, glaring ferociously at the back of Thorben's head. However, not one member of team MTHS rose to the challenge, and that only served to aggravate him further. "Oi, faunas boy, I know bears are stupid, but they're not hard of hearing!" That got Thorben's attention. Spinning on his heel, Thorben walked up to Wren, staring straight into his eyes as Wren kept that overconfident smirk on his face.

"What did you say?" Thorben growled out, his voice low but his face completely calm. No one else moved, Team MTHS unsure of how to react, and Team WSZP snickering behind Wren like a pack of hyenas; they were just waiting for a fight.

"You heard me, freak." Wren laughed, then his face turned into an irritated scowl, "I'm tired of you and your mightier than thou attitude, how you walk around this campus like you own it. So lets finish what we started huh? No rules, no regulation, just you and me."

"I'll have to decline, as much as I'd love to rub your face in the dirt, Reverie has rules against unapproved fights. Try and act civilized, ok?" Thorben tried to let his anger go, he really did. Growing up he rarely had to deal with any discrimination due to his faunas DNA, but it always made his blood boil when he did. However, looking back at his team, he knew it would do him no good to fight this battle with his fist. Everyone knew Wren was a jerk, so there was no risk of losing face by turning down his challenge.

"Civilized? That's rich coming from a savage like you! Hey, Thorben, I've always been curious, how many faunas do I have to kill to make a decent fur coat out of your furry ears." Wren yanked out his sword and blocked Thorben's attack, both boys skidding a bit away from each other from the force.

"Thorben, no!" Mark was in front of Thorben in seconds, arms spread out to block Thorben from seeing Wren, "He's not worth it man, let's just go!"

"But he," Mark yelled, stopping when his shield was ripped from his hands and flew towards Hickory. Grasping his weapon lightly, the other faunas on his team, shook her head sadly when he stared at her in shock. Thorben sighed angrily, but stood up straight, "Whatever, lets get back."

The group let out a breath as Thorben moved away, stomping down the mountain in front of his team. Wren watched them go with a blank face, a slight breeze blowing down the mountain.

"I hate that guy," Wren growled out, sticking his weapon into the ground.

"He is rather arrogant for a faunas isn't he?" His teammate, Zophora popped the gum in her mouth loudly, chewing slowly as she stared after Team MTHS.

"I can't wait to show him his place." Wren pulled his giant sword from the ground as Zophora twirled her hair in her finger in agreement.

"Don't let a faunas get the best of you. If you want to beat him so bad, do it in the battle round when we compete for a spot in the Vytal festival." Zophora popped her gum again "Besides this isn't even where you should be focusing your energy."

"Zophora's right Wren," The tallest member of the team, a boy with dark orange hair walked past them slightly and they obediently followed, "That faunas isn't the main priority, nor is the Vytal festival. We've got bigger auditions to focus on."

"Oh come on, Paris don't tell me you don't want to take a shot at the freak too!" Wren whined, pouting slightly. The final member of their team stayed silent as Paris scoffed.

"I don't waste my time on the inferior species." Paris smirked slightly, "Besides if we do this right, you'll never have to see that bratty faunas again."

 **By far one of my favorite chapters to write. Ok so please review, and I'm opening up the SYOC again for characters for the Vytal festival plus some villains. The form in listed on my page, as well as some very important instructions. Thank you, have a great week!**


	8. The Circus is in Town

"Saffron, Thorben. Go!" Mark grunted as his back slammed against the ground, legs flying ups as he knocked into the wall. Groaning, he watched as Saffron and Thorben sprinted towards Viola. Extending her tanto into the guan doa form, Viola spun the pole in her hands, cutting a strand of Saffron's hair before she could dodge. Shield up, Thorben slid under Viola's attack, launching one foot up and catching her in the chin. Viola went flying into the air, landing with a heavy thud as Amber dodged her body while still shooting arrows at Hickory. Flipping to the side, Hickory threw her pocket watch at Amber, blades spinning as they barely missed Amber's side. Amber's limber body flexed as she flipped and spun out of Hickory's range of attack. Focusing on her target, Amber jumped into the air and fired numerous white arrows at Hickory, her muscles taught as she pulled back the string. Pulling back her pocketwatch, Hickory hopped out of the way of the onslaught, but yelped when one of the arrows landed too close. A block of ice trapped her left foot, halting her movement. She could only cover her face as three more arrows immobilized her body.

Amber switched directions in an instant, the bow clanked as it changed into its sword formation, and Amber met Thorben head on. Mark slowly pushed himself up and ran over to Hickory, skidding to a stop and summersaulting backwards as Yuro blocked his path. Their weapons clashed, both of them glaring at the other as they tried to overpower the other with force alone. Their muscles flexed with the effort. When it became clear that Mark was the stronger of the two, Yuro lashed out with his foot, forcing Mark to back up. Taking that moment to look around, Yuro saw his teammates working together to put down Team MTHS. Primus and Viola were trying to stay away from Saffron's fire, and Amber and Thorben were locked in a one on one battle with no clear advantage either way.

Focusing back on Mark, Yuro furrowed his eyebrows as he noticed Mark's eyes had changed to a deep purple. Must be part of his semblance. He roughly had an idea of what it was from rumors, but the details were a bit scratchy. Cautiously, Yuro moved forward, the familiar weight of his duel tantos brought a bit of confidence. Mark shifted the chamber on his gunblade, and instantly the blade was covered in a ghostly white hue. Swinging the blade, a blast of air sailed towards Yuro, who only barely flipped out of the way. Landing on one knee, Yuro fired one of his tantos towards Mark, holding the metal wire that came out of he butt of the blade tightly. The weapon wrapped around Mark's let, and Yuro gave a vicious tug. Mark grunted as his foot was ripped from under him and he fell to his side, gunblade clattering as it hit the ground.

"Enough!" Everyone froze and looked up to the balcony overlooking the dozen or so sparing chambers. Every chamber was a large sparing room with no ceiling, allowing spectators to watch various fights from above. Right now, one of the professors stood over them with a worried frown on his shrivled up face, "Everyone is to report to the central auditorium at once. No exceptions!" With that, the small man left with a flourish.

"How unfortunate." Amber hummed, standing up straight and put her bow on her back as Thorben changed his bow back into its shield form and slung it onto his back as well. The two then moved to free Hickory from the slowly melting ice, as Primus helped Saffron to her feet.

"Great spar everyone," Primus rubbed his arm where Hickory had landed a particularly nasty kick at the beginning. Checking the pale skin, he sighed in relief when he didn't see any bruise like coloring forming on his skin, even if it was a bit tender. "Man, I really wish I had enough Aura to heal myself a bit."

"Here," Yuro looked less than pleased as he firmly grabbed Primus' arm and laid the tips of his fingers on Primus' skin. Sighing when Yuro's aura poured into the area, he pulled his arm away and rolled his shoulder. It wasn't enough to get rid of the pain completely, but it was more than bearable. "Next time don't waste so much of your aura trying to jump on walls and high places."

"Sorry, sorry!" Primus laughed weakly at his other white haired teammate. Yuro was spending more and more time with the team lately, and their bond was slowly getting stronger. They never really argued before but now Team PAVY was spending more time together doing little things like studying, going into town, or playing video games. Well, Viola and Primus played video games while Amber and Yuro lay on the ground next to them reading and studying. It was a nice change. Pulling down his sleeve, Primus glanced at the other male on his team, wondering what brought on the change.

"Man, we're going to kick butt at the Vytal festival in the spring, we've already improved so much!" Saffron readjusted her skirt as they fell into the crowd of students moving towards the auditorium. Laughter and sighs surrounded them as they moved to find seats in the crowded room. People were squishing together trying to find seats, the temperature quickly rising from the moving bodies.

"Lets just try to qualify first." Mark rubbed his face in his hands, trying to stave off the headache he felt coming on. There was a virus going around the dorms right now, and he really didn't want to deal with it.

"The first step to success is visualization, we just have to imagine ourselves winning and believe we can do it!" Hickory piped up, pulling a screwdriver from her utility belt and started tinkering with her pocket watch. Thorben watched her with mild interest as her small fingers glided over the different gears, fingernails tinged black from always touching oiled metal. Her face was in a concentrated frown, but he could feel the gentle happiness radiating off of her.

It must be nice to have something you're so passionate about, Thorben thought as he tried to focus on the conversation between Saffron and Mark.

"I doubt Headmistress Rangi knows about that, she's been pretty occupied these past couple of days. I usually see her in the morning when she's getting coffee, but I haven't seen her since school restarted." Saffron rested her chin in her hand, before perking up and waving at someone a few seats down. Everyone knew Saffron, or at least of her, so it wasn't uncommon for the team to just run into random people that knew her from some arbitrary place. They actually became rather accustomed to waiting patiently as she caught up with the person for a few minutes, before continuing on their way.

"Well they called the entire school in here for something, and that's the only thing I can think of that's important enough." Mark shrugged, concentrating on the game on his scroll. Looking a bit closer, Thorben could see it was some kind of jumping game, where the player had to jump from cloud to cloud.

"Hopefully its nothing to serious, I'm sure it's just a reminder not to sneak out after curfew. Pay attention Mark, you might learn something." Thorben joked, flinching slightly when Mark reached over Hickory to punch him in the arm. While they still argued constantly, the fights were becoming less hostile and more sassy. Spending so much time with another person made you like them just by proximity, and besides it was too much work being angry at each other all the time.

"Hey, pay attention!" Vin Rosso's voice boomed over the speakers, instantly silencing the room full of students as he tapped his foot impatiently against the hard wood flooring of the stage. "That's better. Now I know you're wondering why we called you all here, so if you pay attention and stay quiet you'll find out. Headmistress Rangi is going to talk to you, so I better not hear any smart remarks." With that, Vin walked to the side. Headmistress Rangi appeared on stage and got an enthusiastic applause from most of the older students. Giving them a tired smile, she readjusted the mike.

"Hello students, its so nice to see you all. I would like to commend you on your behavior these past few weeks. I know with the curfew and lock down that things can be a bit frustrating, so I'm so proud that all of you handled it with such grace and maturity." She paused a bit and sighed, "Now, I've called you all here for some very important news. As many of you know there have been a rise in crime rates throughout Remnant, especially in Atlas. Many of these crimes have targeted young hunters and huntresses, so the Headmasters of Beacon, Haven, Atlas and myself discussed the impact these incidents might have in the spring. There have been some concerns over the safety of hosting the Vytal festival this year," A round of groans went up in the crowd as some students knew what was coming.

"What? They're not going to cancel the festival because of a few thugs are they?" One student yelled over the others, then shrunk back in her seat when Vin hit her with a murderous glare.

"We decided," Headmistress Rangi continued, "That for the safety of everyone, the Vytal Festival will be moved to the fall. Next month to be precise." There was a universal sigh of relief from the students before an excited chatter started up.

"Does that mean they'll hold the auditions earlier?" Thorben questioned slowly, scratching one of his ears. They had less time to train then, and less time to improve their Semblances.

"The auditions will be moved to next week. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but you can start registering on your scrolls starting after dinner. Now, you're all dismissed. Please continue to follow the rules and regulations set by the city of Dorado. As representatives of Reverie Academy, we expect you to be on your best behavior." Headmistress Rangi waved to the students as her mic was cut. Vin escorted her off the stage, nodding towards the guards that huddled just behind the curtain.

"So who's idea was it to move the festival up? Was it that bastard from Atlas, Smith Black?" Vin kept his eyes forward as they walked outside, metallic guards flanking him and Rangi on both sides as they crossed the campus. Their heavy steps echoed through the still empty campus, though the chatter of students slowly leaving the auditorium crept up behind them.

"Headmaster Black was the one to bring up the idea of postponing the festival actually. It seems Vale has suffered greatly from the robberies. Their economy is slowly starting to suffer from the lack of sales, and tourist are becoming scarce." The air was almost icy now, Rangi could see puffs of air escape her mouth with each exhale. Wrapping her arms around herself, she cursed the mountains that towered above her, she never liked the cold that accompanied their beauty.

"Really? That's unlike him," Vin snorted, and dug his hands deeper into his pockets, the tips of his fingers already numb. "So then who was it?" Rangi had to take quick, brisk steps to keep up with him. Noticing her struggle, he slowed his pace, ignoring the grateful look she gave him.

"Headmaster Clayton, surprisingly, although I admit I agreed with him fully." Rangi thought back to the Headmaster of Haven Academy. He was young, new to his position and eager to make a difference. "If the enemy is planning to cause chaos at the Vytal festival in the spring, it would completely dismantle their plans if the festival was moved up to an earlier date."

"So they couldn't do as much damage, if any at all." Vin finished, opening the grand doors to Rangi's office. The curtains were closed and the room smelt faintly of cleaning products, the janitors must have left not to long ago. "Sounds like a solid plan, Rang." Vin watched as Rangi stared at the books on the bookshelf, not reaching to pick one out. Quirking up an eyebrow, he walked to stand near her, "You're not so sure?"

Silence. Vin sighed heavily, then moved to sit on one of the plush green couches on the other side of the room. He hated the color, and couldn't understand why this shade of green was designated as part of Reverie Academy's color scheme.

"Have you heard anything from your connections about who is behind all this?" Rangi switched the subject as she walked lightly to sit in her chair. Her heels clicked lightly on the marble floor causing a light echo.

"Nothing more than what you already know. Seems the bastards keep security pretty tight, we still have no idea what their goal is or who's pulling the strings." Vin said gravely, watching as Rangi pulled on a light shawl and pulled out a book.

"That's what I was afraid of." Rangi flipped to the table of contents and found the subject she was looking for. Gingerly turning to the desired page, she lazily scanned over the contents. The room was silent between them for a few minutes.

"We'll have to tell the public at some point, Rangi, despite what all the Headmasters and politicians think this isn't something we're going to be able to keep under wraps for long." Vin stood up and moved to the door, looking back at the Headmistress. Her usually tidy hair was beginning to fall form its bun, and dark circles made obvious bags under her eyes. Biting his lip, feelings of pity washed over him, the poor woman was more tired than she let on. His old friend was a stubborn woman, so she'd never complain or let him help her take care of herself. "Come on, I'll walk you home." He waited for Rangi to move, but she didn't. Instead she gave him a hallow stare.

"Its only a matter of time, isn't it Vin? This peace you and I worked so far will come to an end soon." She asked quietly, pulling her hair from its bun and just letting the strands fall over her shoulders. Not saying anything, after a moment, Vin let his shoulder droop and closed the door again, moving to stand in front of Rangi's desk.

"There never was peace, Rangi, only silence. We managed to only silence the evil for a while, now its back. New face, new tricks, but same goal." Vin reached over and put a hand on his friend's shoulder, and she raised her chin to look into his eyes. Giving her a confident smirk, he continued, "But its alright, we can handle it. We did it once, and we'll do it again."

XXX

"Yahoo!" Saffron screamed as the wind tore through her hair, the G-force rattling very organ in her body as the roller-coaster took a hard left. Beside her, Amber gripped the handlebars for dear life, eyes squeezed shut in terror. Screams of delight and horror filled her ears as the wind rushed passed her, and then the small girl lurched forward as the machine came to a cranking stop. Leaning over, Amber breathed deeply before Saffron pulled her from the seat. "That was awesome!" Saffron laughed, slapping Amber on the back, "Thanks for riding with me, Viola and Hickory missed out big time, huh?"

"Yeah," Amber's voice shook a bit as her feet wobbled. No one ever warned her that roller costars caused such side effects, maybe that's why her mother never let her ride them as a child. Saffron continued to talk incessantly about the greatness that was the circus, excitingly pointing out this and that as Amber walked alongside her patiently. It was nice having a friend like Saffron, Amber wasn't a person of many words but Saffron had plenty for both of them.

"So how do you like the circus so far?" Saffron finally paused to ask her a question, fingers intertwined behind her head. Amber turned her head up to the midday sun, it warmed her face gently and faded some of the Goosebumps on her arms. The temperature had dropped significantly this week, seems a cold front had moved in the day after Headmistress Rangi announced the Vytal Festival's new date.

"Its nice, but I think I'd enjoy it more without the smell," Amber gave a small laugh when Saffron crinkled up her nose and nodded in agreement. The pungent smell of animals and dirt mixed in the air, one of the only negatives to this festive event. Amber felt her arm being pulled gently as Saffron took a steady grip on her wrist, flashing her a brilliant smile.

"Well, I know something that smells even better!" The two girls weaved through the crowds, laughing as they came to the food stands. Amber's mouth watered as the smell of burgers and kebabs filled her nostrils, making her realize just how hungry she was. Grabbing an oversized turkey leg wrapped in shiny tin foil, Amber scanned the crowd for a place to sit.

"Amber, over here!" A familiar voice boomed over the crowd, and the dark skinned girl smiled as she saw Viola and Hickory waving at her with welcoming faces. Gathering up Saffron, who ordered a burger, the four girls sat together chatting and eating. Just enjoying the freedom of being young huntresses with no responsibilities and enough money to splurge on events like this.

"Oh, whatever, I totally think we can make it to the elephant rides before the petting zoo closes. We've still got an hour or so before we have to get back!" Saffron protested as Viola leveled her with a bored stare. The girls needed to be back on campus early to get their assignments for the auditions to the Vytal Festival. However, Safforn wanted to make sure Amber got the full circus experience before the circus left town the next day for the rest of the year. Apparently, elephant rides were a necessary part of the experience, and she was going to fight tooth and nail to make sure they went.

"Elephants are naturally intelligent creatures, it would be interesting to get to see one up close." Hickory carved the last bit of ice cream out of the plastic cup, savoring the sweet flavor.

"And they're huge!" Saffron added, pulled a small smile from Viola.

"Honestly, I don't mind if we miss them this time around," Amber piped up, pulling a chunk of meat off the turkey leg, "It'll give me something to look forward to next time."

"Well there," Viola gave a firm nod, "Its settled, we'll finish eating and head back." Saffron gave a wounded sound and hugged Amber tightly.

"No fair, Viola, she's only saying that because you're being pushy!" Pulling back, Saffron looked Amber straight into the eye with determination flaring, "Come on Amber, tell her! Tell Viola, she's being pushy!"

"Oh dear," Hickory gave an awkward laugh as Viola's eyebrow began to twitch.

"Pushy?" She repeated slowly, a dark air settling around her. The girls all laughed at her expense, before continuing the conversation around a fuming Viola. The girls leisurely strolled back to campus, waving here and there at students they were familiar with. Hickory even got to chat with Professor Lucent about the alternations she was thinking about making to her weapon, the conversation left her beaming and skipping.

"I can't believe we're going to start auditions tomorrow," Viola shook her head, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, we're going to kick butt!" Saffron declared, punching her fist in the air as Hickory and Amber laughed at her. She was always so full of positive energy and determination.

"If the boys manage to show up on time that is," Viola snorted, remembering that the other half of her team was a little less than responsible. Primus started sleeping later and later everyday, easily moving away from the habit of rising early that he got from living at a boarding school.

"Do you think Headmistress Rangi would mind if we just made an all girls team?" Amber joked as they passed though the pearly gates of Reverie Academy. A few students milled around, but most were probably getting ready to see their placement in the auditions. It was tournament style, so everyone was excited to show off their skills and what they learned over the past few months.

"Mind? I think she'd love it. She seems like the girl power type!" Saffron confirmed, nodding her head sagely as she thought of their headmistress. She was kind of a living legend around campus; everyone talked of how intelligent and strong she was, almost like a cool aunt who lived with you but who you rarely saw.

"Wow, didn't know you guys wanted to get rid of us that bad." The girls paused and turned to the side. Thorben was balancing a few books under his arm, a backpack slung over his shoulder. Saffron walked over and poked him in the chest.

"Don't take it personal, we just like each other more than we like you," She gave him a bright smile to show she was jesting, and he returned it with a roll of his eyes.

"You wound me, Saffron. I thought you loved me." Thorben accompanied them back to the dorms, where they all gathered in Team PAVY's room. Mark and Primus sat on the ground, playing some game on their scrolls. They waved their hands in front of the other's face, pushing and shoving with their shoulders as they tried to distract one another. Yuro watched them with amusement, texting his guardian to pass the time.

When Primus looked up and saw Viola and Amber, he gave them a smile as he snapped his scroll closed and stood up. "Cotton candy?" He asked, looking at them with a small bit of hope in his eyes.

"No I didn't bring you any cotton candy, Primus. You've been eating way too many sweets lately!" Viola scolded then walked to grab something from her closet. As her back was turned, Amber snuck a small bag of sugary fluff from her pack and slipped it to Primus, who flashed her a grateful smile.

"We should start heading over to the library to see our assignments." Yuro cracked his back as he stood up from the floor. The group muttered in agreement, before the eight members of Team PAVY and Team MTHS shuffled out of the room, laughing merrily at Primus as Viola continued to reprimand his eating habits.

"Well aren't you all just big balls of sunshine and rainbows." The group paused and waved at Vin Rosso as he walked passed them, going the opposite direction. Rolling his eyes in annoyance, Vin waved back lazily and continued on his way. Entering the library, the group saw six large holographic screens floating inches from one of the empty walls. Dozens of other students milled around, restlessly waiting for the last minutes to pass before they got the information about their auditions.

Looking around, Mark only counted roughly twelve teams, far less than what he was expecting. The abrupt change in schedule must have thrown many teams off. Mark talked to a few of his classmates and knew they just didn't feel ready to fight at that level with how they were now.

"Its starting!" A shrill voice silenced the crowd as the lights dimmed a bit, the holograms glowing a bit brighter. Words of welcome and praise scrolled across the screens, but Mark was too anxious to read them. Shifting from foot to foot, Mark waited impatiently for the formalities to be over.

"Here we go," He breathed, feeling his muscles tense up as every waited with bated breath. The screen spun like a slot machine, shuffling through names at a dizzying rate. Finally it stopped. Whispers broke out as everyone stared at the various matches, and finally the bracket.

"Team winter, huh?" Thorben stared at the four faces on the screen under Team WNTR. The team was fully male, and they were second years. Biting his lip, he glanced at his team. What a bad draw, they had a whole year of experience on them. He could see Hickory chewing her bottom lip lightly as she came to the same conclusion as he did.

"We got a second year team, too." Yuro's eyes watched the screen with a narrowed expression. His frustration leaked into his voice as he ran his fingers through his snow white hair.

"Do you know Team contour?" Viola questioned, eye brow raised in confusion. Its not that she though Yuro was wrong, it was just that he didn't know many people at school, so she was surprised he was familiar with this team is all. She personally had never heard of Team CNTR. He gave a dismissive shrug and continued to look around the room. Clicking her tongue at his dismissal, Viola followed his eyes to a girl with deep purple hair and dark brown skin. "That's Team dusk right?" She scanned her eyes quickly over the screen, landing on the proper acronym, "Seems like they got the worst match up, Team glass is a third year team. I think they actually went to the Vytal festival last year."

"Too bad, Team dusk is really good." Amber tapped her finger to her lips, deep in thought. The group milled around for a bit, chatting with the other teams until Hickory's stomach let out a monstrous growl. With a laugh and a wave, Team MTHS and Team PAVY settle on going into town for dinner. The circus closed up earlier, but a few nice restaurants were open, including a cheap sandwich joint.

"I take it back, I should have gotten the BLT too," Mark rubbed his face on his hands as he mourned the end of his sub sandwich. His stomach growled loudly, totally unsatisfied with the current amount of food he offered as sacrifice. No one could resist laughing at his grumpy demeanor; Mark was always cranky if he didn't take at least one nap during the day.

"I want to get another thing of fries anyway, do you want me to get a BLT for you?" Saffron offered, bags starting to form under her eyes as the sun disappeared from the horizon. Mark leaned over on the table and propped his head up with his hand, shaking his head no.

"Honestly Saffron, don't spoil him. You're…" Thorben froze as his eyes widened a bit. Staring out the window behind Saffron, he shifted a bit to get a better view, pushing his shoulder against Hickory. "Isn't that Team WSZP?" He bit out, bear ears going down a bit. The rest of the table moved to look out the window, pressing against each other in a less than tactful manner to spot the mentioned team.

"Where are they going," Saffron glanced at both watches on her wrist, frowning when she realized she couldn't remember which one had the correct time, "I'm pretty sure we only have like fifteen minutes before curfew." Moving away from the window, the friends returned to their original seats.

"They've been hanging out passed curfew the past couple weeks, then don't get home till right before sunrise." Amber remember, scrunched up the paper that used to wrap her sandwich. The school gossip was always an excellent source of information, and Team WSZP was often the topic of discussion as of late.

"That's odd, nothings open after ten with all the robberies," Hickory cleared her stuff and dumped it in the trash, the others a bit behind her as they cleaned up behind themselves. Waving back to the shopkeeper, the group exited the shop. Setting a quick pace, Mark started towards Reverie Academy, pausing when he could no longer hear footsteps behind him. Looking back he noticed Primus had stopped, and was looking off into the distance. Mark's teal eyes followed his gaze, to an area on the East side of town.

"Come on, Primus, we have to make curfew or Vin will chew our butts off." Viola commanded, as Yuro crossed his arms over his chest impatiently. The air was chilly and most of them forgot jackets, so this hold up was less than appreciated.

"You guys go ahead, I wanna see what they were up too." Primus started walking back the way they came, ignoring Viola's screech of annoyance.

"Oh don't start this again, Primus! Who cares what those jerks do, let them get in trouble with Vin!" Viola jogged forward and roughly took ahold of his shoulder, her arm tensing when he jerked away.

"Last time I let it go, three people ended up dead." Primus clenched his fist, "It's to late to take that back, but I'm going after them to keep them from doing something stupid. It doesn't matter if I like them or not, they're still people." Then he jogged off, white hair flowing behind him as he got further and further away. Viola called out after him angrily, before just giving up and following him.

"Damn his stupid hero complex." She growled, then yelled, "Wait up, Primus, you'll get killed without me!" The others looked at each other in confusion for a second before Yuro gave a frustrated sigh.

"Amber, go back to campus and alert the guards if we're not back in two hours!" He looked at her in a way that said this was not up for discussion, relaxing a bit when she gave a nod. Then, he turned his gaze to Mark, "Come with me, its better to have a team of four than a team of three."

"You think something's going to go wrong?" Thorben folded his arms over his chest, flexing slightly in agitation. Yuro rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"When does it ever go right?"

 **Thank you for reading, and please review. Its one of the ways I improve the story and keep myself motivated. I'm actually proud of how well I got all 8 of the OCs to interact so well in conversation and a fight scene, but tell me what you think. The SYOC is still open, I only have three submissions so far, and I'd like a bit more. So feel free to submit one or tell your friends. Thank you!**


	9. Golden Doors and Peeling Paint

Stepping carefully over a pile of trash, Mark leaned around the corner, purple eyes flashing in the scarcely lit alleyway as he watched a duo of gothic dressed boys chat lowly with a buff man posted outside. The dark blue military button up strained to contain his bulging biceps as he waved them in before turning back to his original position.

"Looks like some kind of secret club," Mark shut off his Semblance and everything faded sharply, he could barely see Viola's face and she stood only arms length away. Primus watched as Mark rubbed his eyes roughly, blinking quickly as if trying to clear dust from his eyes. So there was a side effect to Mark's ability.

"Alright, lets go." Primus ordered, only to gag as his collar tightened around his neck. Turning his head back, Primus could barely see Yuro's sharp green eyes as he held the collar of Primus' shirt in a tight grip.

"Don't be so impatient, we have no idea what's in there." Yuro cautioned, releasing Primus when the other white haired boy turned back to look at him. The group flinched when the door slammed heavily, pushing themselves closer to the wall as not to be seen.

"Yuro's right, we can't just rush inside," Mark let out a silent yawn, a slight frown on his face as he tried to figure out what to do. Clubs like this were usually pretty exclusive, and they didn't take kindly to noisy people trying to sneak in. More than likely they'd need some kind of passcode, but none of them were capable of hearing well enough to overhear what the new comers were telling the guard. Giving a sharp sigh, Mark yanked on his spikey brown hair and frowned. He really needed a haircut, his hair almost reached his shoulder blades. His mother would freak if she saw him.

"Why are we even trying to go inside," Viola glared at the boys around her, barely making out their silhouettes in the darkness, "Its probably some secret society for assholes, lets just go back before we get in more trouble than what we already are." Viola snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. None of the boys answered her, but Mark and Primus shared a look that she couldn't quite decipher.

"We're not going to do anything," Primus exaggerated a bit, "I just want to know what Team WSZP is up to, and in order to do that we need to go inside." Primus shut up when Viola reached up and grabbed the front of his collar, "Is this going to be a tend tonight?" Primus joked, giving a panicked smile to his less than happy bodyguard.

"Absolutely not" Viola growled out, shoving Primus away, "its dangerous enough for you to be walking the streets at night as it is. We are not going inside some sketchy building, got it?" Primus rolled his eyes and scoffed, before peering around the corner again. Viola wanted to scream, but said nothing as Primus ignored her. Even if they were friends, at the end of the day, Primus was still her superior and she was not to question him. No matter how idiotic he could be.

"Ok, this is going no where," Yuro sighed, putting a hand on his hip, "Lets just go see if we can get inside, there's nothing we can do from here." The group muttered an agreement, deciding to meet back here at midnight if they were split up inside.

"Sounds good, but let me talk to the guard." Mark started walking around the corner only to be yanked by a skeptical Viola.

"What in the world makes you think he's going to let you in over me?" Viola raised an eyebrow, poking out her chest for emphasis. Studying her for a moment, Mark couldn't deny that she was attractive and that would have a good effect on the male guard, but only gave her a sly smirk. Viola's eyes narrowed at the challenge, her ponytail falling off her shoulder.

"Sorry, Viola, but you were raised by a bunch of pompous old jerks, where I was a rather rebellious teenager. I've been to more than a few sketchy underground clubs, which is more than any of you can say." Primus snorted in agreement as Viola pouted, but dropped the subject, following after the boys with her chin high.

"You mean you actually got out of bed long enough to do something other than eat?" Primus joked, earning a mock glare from Mark.

"It was the only place my mom couldn't find me and nag about my room." Mark bit back, a small smirk on his face.

The guard straightened up when he saw them walking towards them, his eyes looking them up and down with aversion. Shifting his hand to his side, Viola noticed a holster on his leg and put her hand behind her back, preparing to remove the tanto on her back if the man got violent.

"Who are you?" the man boomed, his deep voice rattled through Mark's chest, but he kept an aloof expression on his face. The group could see every flex of his muscles through his shirt, and tried to ignore the slight unease between them as he glared them down.

"Why? Is there a list?" Mark casually asked, shoving his hands into his pocket as the guard let out a dry, humorless laugh.

"You brat. I'm tired of dealing with kids like you, I wish I could just cut your heads off." The man chuckled, eying them in a crazed fashion as he began to remove his gun from its holster. Instantly, Mark had his gunblade out but kept it hanging at his side as the others took a step back. This guy was obviously just an overexcited bottom feeder. The people in charge probably just put him here to scare off anyone who was meddling.

"Now, now, is this how we treat potential new recruits?" A female voice flowed between them, making Mark freeze at the chill in her tone. The guard's eyes widened, as he sputtered out an apology before taking a few choppy steps back. The woman elegantly moved out of the shadows, her deep green hair curled softly above her shoulders. Giving the man a dismissive wave, the woman gave the group a sweet smile through her black mask, before opening the door and throwing the man a disapproving look. The mask shifted with every facial expression and covered her nose and everything below.

"Forgive me ma'am, I just don't remember seeing these guys before." The guard holstered his weapon and sulked back over.

"Well it is new recruits night isn't it?" Her voice was light and friendly, but her eyes told a contradicting story. The group said nothing as the guard apologized over and over again, desperate to get back in her good graces. The woman only held up her hand for silence and turned back to the group, eying Mark's gunblade, "What a lovely weapon you have. Come inside, I'll take you to where you need to be." The woman gestured them to enter, indiscreetly eying each teenager as they passed her critical eyes. Refusing to look away when their eyes met, Viola tilted her chin up to stare into the taller woman's eyes. A moment passed and the edge of the woman lips curled up into a rueful smile. Glaring slightly, Viola tore her gaze away and swallowed thickly as she passed the threshold into the building.

Long florescent lights buzzed on the low ceiling of the hallway, and the smell of dust and abandonment wafted through the walls. Their footsteps echoed as the imposing woman came to a stop at a blank wall with peeling green paint. Mark kept his face blank as the woman waved her hand and the wall groaned, before revealing a door. Steel stairs disappeared down the brightly lit hidden stairwell. This must have been a new addition to the building; Mark glanced around quickly at the bright overhead lights and sniffed in the tart smell of new paint.

"Just ahead is where you can check in before heading to the assembly for the orientation." The woman gestured to a small group huddled over a table, then tugged on her mask a bit. Slowly dragging her eyes over the group one more time, the woman's eyes smiled teasingly, "Its always so nice to see such young, strong children dedicated to serving the cause."

"Yeah, well, thanks for the directions," Mark dipped his head a bit, watching the woman from under his bangs as he began to walk forward, the others walking close behind him. A shiver shot up his back when she placed a gloved hand on his shoulder, her eyes bored into Mark's eyes, studying his soul with no shame. It was like a snake grabbed his chest, Mark felt sweat roll down his back as he chest squeezed his lungs. Yuro noticed his struggle, and loudly cleared his throat, looking completely innocent as the woman's invasive gaze snapped to him. Looking him up and down, she hummed lightly before dropping her hand from Mark's shoulder.

"Welcome to Nightfall, I'm sure it'll be," she paused, smiling through her mask, "a pleasure to work with you." With a flourish she walked passed them back up the stairway. Exhaling slowly, Mark furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to come back from whatever just happened. His legs buckled a bit, but an arm slipped around his waist before he could fall. Primus threw Yuro a worried look, but said nothing when Mark gave him a gentle shove away.

"I'm fine, I just," Mark trailed off, looking at the area where the woman pointed them, "Let's just find Team WSZP and get out of here. The way the woman was acting,"

"I agree, we should leave as soon as possible," Yuro moved in front of them, moving with a strong purpose as his mind raced. This was obviously a way more than an underground club. The way the woman talked to the guard, how she expressed her approval that they were joining her cause. What cause exactly was she talking about? Yuro made a mental note to try and learn however much he could before they ditched this place. Something in his gut told him that this 'Nightfall' thing was something the Headmistress would want to know about.

Coming to a stop in front of the table, Yuro quickly realized the half mask coving the lower face was a trend here, as both men signing them in wore the covering with pride. Quickly signing in, with fake names of course, the group was pointed towards a poorly lit room filled with bodies. Mark almost gagged at the smell of sweat and hormones as he moved closer to the mass. Viola scanned the room quickly, looking for their classmates before grabbing Primus' arm and giving a pointed look to the right. Following her gaze, Primus gave a triumphant smirk as he spotted Zophora's iconic hoodie and Wren standing right next to her.

"Ok so we found them, but what," Primus pointed the group out to the other two boys, before being cut of when the crowd gave a roar of excitement. The lights at the front of the room were turned up, and the crowd got a bit restless.

"Looks like we'll have to stick around for the show," Mark grunted, standing up straight as the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He really wanted to just bolt out of here when the woman from before strode onto the stage, hands folded behind her back. Her eyes scanned over the crowd before falling on Mark, causing his gut to fall to the floor.

"Greetings friends, collages, and contributors. It is wonderful to see you all again in such good circumstances. However, today is a day of greetings and welcome, rather than a day of reunion." The room hushed, only a few small buzzes of conversation as she spoke, "Today is the day we welcome the young generation into our cause. Nightfall continues to grow, and now our message has attracted the hearts of young hunters and huntresses all over the world." A shout of approval shook the room, and the woman had a slightly amused look in her eye. Mark and Viola exchanged concerned glances when the door to the room slid shut. Yuro's eyes narrowed, as the room got warmer, the woman on the stage continuing her speech of pride and unity.

"Guys we need to go, now." Yuro ground out the last word, grabbing Primus' arm and forcibly moving him towards the door. His heart pounded in his chest as they pressed on the door discreetly, hearing the deadbolt bang against the metal lock on the other side.

"Now, I would like to introduce you all to the visionary who is going to lead Nightfall to victory. The man who will usher in a new era of peace and equality for all of Remnant," the group froze as the woman's gaze fell on them, "Welcome, your leader, the man who will lead us to prosperity, Aden Hook!" There was a violent cheering as the woman walked backwards off the stage. Viola took a deep breath to calm her erratic heart as a tall man in a black outfit walked onto the stage. If that didn't sound like a warning, she didn't know what did. Even from here, she could feel the intoxicating power in each of his steps. His black hair was slicked back as he reached out to grab the mic in muscled hands. A deep laugh rumbled through her chest as he brought the mic to his lips and the crowd continued their praise.

"Hush now, my friends, or you'll alert all of Dorado to our presence." The deepness of his voice silenced the crowd instantly, drawing a heart stopping smile to spread on his face. Primus swallowed thickly, scolding himself for stupidly getting them into a really bad situation. This was getting more and more cult like with every second they stood there, and they still couldn't find a discreet way to slip out. Glancing over at Team WSZP, Primus' could see the twisted smile on their faces as they waited with baited breath for the man to speak to them. Shivering at the dedicated look in their eyes, Primus fingered the sleeve of his shirt.

"Guys," Viola watched fearfully as a few guards marched on stage, flanking Aden with state of the art weapons. Although she wasn't as knowledgeable as Hickory when it came to weapons, Viola recognized those guns as the blasters used in Atlas; lethal, expensive, and very exclusive. "How in the world did they get those weapons."

"Didn't a large shipment of weapons get stolen a few weeks ago, my sister was telling me about it, but I could have sworn they found it." Primus felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face.

"Obviously not all of them." Mark muttered lowly.

"Dorado is a beautiful city," The group snapped their attention back to Aden as he began to slowly pace the stage, "Never in my life have I seen trees so tall, or a people so diverse. If I had to say this is one of the most ideal places in Remnant, I'd happily say it was so, and yet," he stopped, eyes gazing off the stage at something they couldn't see, "It's still not good enough."

"Guys, there's a door over there," Primus discreetly motioned to a small door that was barely cracked open on the adjacent wall, a sea of eager bodies blocking the way.

"The leaders of Dorado continue to fill the pockets of the rich four Kingdoms in exchange for weapons. It's sickening. As people starve in the streets, the police of Dorado would rather outfit themselves in shiny new toys than help those that suffer!" Grumbles of agreement go up around the room, and for a second, Primus stops trying to think of a plan and pays attention. Aden shook his head in disgust, not one grey hair moving out of place, "All over this world, the poor are left to fend for themselves against the Grimm and tyranny of the four kingdoms, while the rich continue to stuff themselves." Primus had to stop himself from shrinking into himself as the man went on and on about the atrocities committed against the lower classes, "Faunas work in inhumane conditions for meager amounts of pay, poor cities struggle to pay taxes to the four kingdoms in exchange for protection, and boarder towns are cruelly sacrificed to the Grimm to protect the inner kingdoms. These are some of the lesser crimes the elite have committed against the people of Remnant. For generations, those who come from wealthy families continue to prosper, while the rest of us are thrown to the Grimm as sacrifices. Those of you who are attending the local academy know what I'm talking about. Who has the best training, which of you receives the most attention? I am willing to bet my life that it's those children whose parents can afford to donate buckets of money to the school. The rest of you must learn for yourselves, and therefore many of you will be slaughtered without meaning, while the rich climb to the top and are declared heroes."

"So they're target is the upper class?" Yuro whispered to himself, biting his lip as he watched the man point to a random person in the crowd.

"You there, do you attend Reverie?" Aden's voice was inviting, yet stern, almost like that of a parent. Trying to remember the kid's name, Yuro only knew he was a member of team WSZP.

"Yes, sir," The kid's voice was monotone, almost robotic in its rhythm. Aden nodded in approval.

"Tell me, who is the strongest person in your class? Is it someone who got who got their skills though hard work and merit, or who bought the best tutors and came from a good family?"

"It's a girl, Viola Lapointe," the group froze, but none of them dared make eye contact. Holding in a breath, Primus was very happy they used fake names as the boy continued, "She comes from a rich family that has the best tutors in the nation."

"Lapointe, you say?" the man scoffed, making Viola's eyebrow twitch in frustration, "So she's been training with the best since before she could walk. No doubt, her parents bought her the best weapons money could buy, and paid for her to learn to fight while others her age were helping to support their families." Viola wanted to shout in protest, but Primus' grip on her arm made her wince. Glancing up at him, he wasn't looking at her, only staring forward with a tight line on his face. Aden switched the mic to the other hand and continued, "Kids like that have been given every tool they need to succeed since day one, they've never had anyone doubt them, never had to struggle, and never had to fight for their spot in life. While others, who are just as capable if no more so, must fight for every little thing? It's disgusting. Its this system of favoritism and elitism that we at Nightfall fight against." The crowd cheered loudly, making the floor shake.

"So they're an equalist group." Mark hummed, knowing they couldn't hear him over the screams. That was fine. Mark watched Aden as he walked back to the center of the platform. Something was off with this guy, as if he wasn't saying everything.

"We of the lower classes have protested far too long and saw no change, so now we will no longer protest peacefully, now we will show them the power of the majority! No longer are they safe behind their platinum walls and golden doors! No longer may they sit in comfort while children starve in their front yard!" The group could feel themselves getting pushed and shoved around as the crowd began to scream and vibrate with agreement. People reached their hands towards Aden, as if he was the only one keeping them alive. Viola watched a boy break down in tears at the pure passion in Aden's speech.

"And the creepy meter just hit one hundred, we need to go now!" Viola shoved her way through the mass of bodies, eyes hard with determination as she focused on nothing but reaching that cracked door in front of her.

"The time has come, to take what has always been rightfully ours! They called us weak, but we have showed them our strength. Already we have taken the heirs of six major dust companies hostage, and killed three government officials!" the group froze in their steps, Primus felt the wind go out of him. It was Yuro who acted, as he shoved the group the final bit to the door, quickly slipping out as the mass went up in frenzy at the news. The four of them quickly shut the door behind them, feeling Goosebumps pop up on their arms at the sudden change in temperature.

Yuro's arms shook a bit as he looked back at his friends, eyes looking around trying to ground himself. They needed to get back to Reverie. Now. Headmistess Rangi needed to know what was going on. He clenched his fist and leaned on the wall for a bit, forgetting where he was. They just found out who was kidnapping the heirs, this was huge. No wonder the guard was inspecting them so carefully, this was serious business. Nightfall. The name kept repeating in his head as he tried to ingrain what Aden looked like deep into his brain. This was a major find, and the authorities would need all the information they could get.

"We need to get you out of here Primus, if someone saw your family crest," Viola trailed off, forcing her arms to her side as she moved to check around the corner, "Its almost impossible that someone didn't, even if we were in the back."

"They're the ones kidnapping the heirs, we need to get this information back to Headmistress Rangi," Yuro added, "every moment we spend here is a chance someone will find out we're not legit and try to get rid of us. So we need to,"

"Need to what?" The group spun and dropped into defensive poses as they faced the newcomer. Mark's eyes narrowed when he saw the woman from before, her mask covering her face as her eyes sparkled with excitement. Holding a foil in her left hand, she moved her eyes to Primus. Her eyes crinkled upwards in a smile, "I hope you're not leaving so soon, Primus Lune, I'm sure Aden would be very interested in meeting you."

"Meet me or chop me into pieces?" Primus unsheathed his falchion sword from his side, the dust port spinning before settling on ice. The woman gave a mocking laugh and took a step forward before Viola moved in front of Viola in a defensive stance.

"Yuro, Mark, you have to get Primus out of here." Viola kept her back to them, extending her guan do to its full length.

"Like hell, you can't take her! I'm not leaving you here." Primus protested, but stopped when she turned a fierce glare towards him, her violet eyes flaring with anger and determination.

"I never said to leave me," Viola snapped, and then turned back to the woman, who waited patiently. More than likely for reinforcements. "I'm not stupid. When it comes to the ring, I'm the best there is, but out here on the battlefield, I'm the weak link. This isn't a game, Primus, these people want to kill you and it's my job to keep that from happening no matter what. So even if something happens to me, you have to keep moving. This is bigger than all of us, these people are behind all the bad stuff that's been going on. Someone has to tell Headmistress Rangi and Vin, we can't afford for all of us to die here." The boys all looked at each other, before Mark gave an annoyed sigh and moved up to Viola, his gunblade ready.

"Man, all I wanted to do was have a good night sleep and now we're in this mess," He gave Viola a lazy wink, "And I plan on doing just that, after we get out of here and tell Headmistress Rangi. All of us." Then he sprinted forward, the woman ducked under his blade and threw her elbow into his stomach. Stumbling backwards, Mark stepped out of the way as her blade was thrust towards him, her form like a ballet dancer as she countered Viola's guan do with ease, changing between defending and attacking with unbelievable ease. Lunging forward on her toes, the woman's weapon knocked Mark back into the wall. Struggling to breathe as the wall cracked under his weight, Mark groaned at the pulsing pain in his spine as he struggled to get up.

Viola activated her Semblance, three clones popped into existence and attacked as one, changing forward with aggressive attack patterns. The woman looked unimpressed as she dispelled each clone with a flick of her wrist, lunging towards the real Viola's neck. The sound of metal passing through air, and the woman grunted, a dark humanoid presence standing between her and Viola. The shadowy presence clasped the foil between its hands. Yuro ran on the wall and came down fast, kicking the woman away and forcing her to drop her weapon.

"What an interesting semblance," the woman hummed, watching the shadowy figure melt back into the ground and reattach itself to Yuro's feet, "You're shadow can remove itself and fight alone, correct? I've never seen something so interesting." Viola and Yuro moved forward together, Viola shortened her guan do to the tanto and violently thrust blows towards the woman's face, grunting in frustration when not a single hit landed. Yuro fired his guns at her from a bit away, keeping her on her toes. Mark forced himself to his feet and Primus moved towards him.

"We've got to slow her down somehow, she's too fast." Mark panted, picking up his gunblade. Primus clicked his tongue in agreement and the two of them moved forward. Viola flipped back as the woman's foil fired a beam of fire dust at her face, darting away from the flames before they roasted her hair.

"You must be Primus' guard, we heard it was a Lapointe girl. I'm surprised; you'd think with all that money, your parents would have bought you some decent teachers. You're form is shockingly ugly." The woman landed a solid punch in Viola's stomach, before following it up with a knee in Viola's face. "Although I should not be surprised, all the money in the world can't buy talent." Viola's head snapped back and she gasped for air as blood gushed out of her nose. Yuro paused as he heard the sound of boots rumbling down the hall behind the woman and bit his tongue; reinforcements were coming.

Mark engaged the woman, forcing her away from Viola as their blades clashed without mercy. Forced on the defensive, Mark hissed as the woman's foil nicked his hand, a line of blood dripping down his wrist. Moving passed them, Yuro engaged the reinforcements, dodging the blast from their guns. With as much determination as she could force out, Viola gathered herself up from the floor. The room spun a bit and she fell back to her knees as she watched the woman knock Mark into the ground, his body creating an indent in the cement. Yuro wasn't fairing so well either, his shadow clone fizzled and disappeared as the reinforcements kept on coming, his sweat and blood running down his face and shaking arms.

"Now!" Viola's head snapped up as Mark yelled out, his voice cracking as Primus appeared from behind the woman. A look of shock came over her face as he landed a solid punch to her face, but she deflected at the last moment, and the blow scrapped her arm and barely made contact. The woman yelped as she went crashing back, crumbling to the floor in pain. With that Mark pushed himself to his feet and went to help Yuro, who was barely standing as the reinforcements surrounded him.

"How careless of me, to lose sight of my most valuable target." The woman chuckled darkly from the ground before pushing herself up, only for the smile to drop instantly from her face when her arm didn't respond the way it should. Primus yanked Viola to her feet, watching the woman struggle to move her body.

"You ok? Sorry it took me so long to get ready," Primus studied her bloodied face, and Viola only leaned on him, her muscles aching and face throbbing.

"You brat!" the woman growled out, eyes wild as her curls drooped a bit. She finally managed to stand, but she was leaning heavily to one side, her right arm hanging limply as she snarled at them, "What did you do? I'll kill you for this!" The woman gripped her foil tightly in her good arm, the dust chamber spinning quickly as she settled on the fire. Primus' eyes widened when she pointed the blade at them. From this distance, the blast would be to fast to dodge. Glancing at the struggling girl on his side, Primus took at step back, before turning when he heard a loud crunching sound and Yuro collapsed to the ground, body twitching slightly as Mark stood over him trying to hold off the last four guards.

"I don't understand, you're arm should be too heavy for you to stand." Primus muttered, more to himself than anyone. His semblance allowed his to change the weight of various things he touched. When he hit the woman earlier, he increased the weight of her arm tenfold, essentially making it near impossible for her to move.

"You ungrateful brats, I was going easy on you. Now, I'll show you why I'm the head of Nightfall's Dorado unit!" A crazed smile came over her lips, all of her poise and grace gone, "Aden never said I had to bring you in alive. A dead heir as just as useful as a live one!" Her blade was coated in red, before it formed a thick ball at the end of her blade and launched towards them. Moving his body, Primus shielded Viola's body with his own and waited for the fire.

 **Very Important Author's Note, please read or skim over:**

 **Thank you for reading. Please review, especially if you haven't in a while. It helps me keep track of who is reading, that way if a creator isn't reading anymore, I can give that spot SYOC spot to another character. Just because I know that as an SYOC character, you want to see your character as much as possible, so I want those who are reading to see their character develop as best they can.**

 **Also I've gotten some concerns from readers that I haven't been developing the females very well so far, and I feel the need to explain myself. This arc is the set up for the rest of the story, and so some characters won't be as featured as much as they will in the future. As of now, I have two arcs already planned out, each will be 4-7 chapters. In the next Arc, you will see the females taking more of a center stage just because that's what the story calls for. Also the creators of the SYOC did something very interesting that i've never really seen before. The guys tended to have more personal/relationship problems(ex. Mark and Thorben's rivalry, Primus' relationship with his family, Thorben's relationship with his brother), while the females problems tended to have more trouble with their actual fighting skill and confidence(ex. Saffron's weapon problems, Viola's trouble in real battle). So in an introductory arc like this one, where I have to introduce characters and develop relationships, the relationship problems tend to get addressed first, and therefore the majority of the guys took center stage. When we have an arc more focused on fighting and training, the girls will have their time to shine.**

 **Finally about the SYOC, thank you for the submissions, but the application is STILL OPEN. I'm still looking for a good amount of characters to pick from. If I haven't messaged you back, don't be upset, I won't start contacting anyone to make changes or ask questions until the SYOC is closed. So please keep submitting!**

 **Thank you for your time, please read and review if you have the chance.**


	10. Her Name

Primus felt a wave of heat pass him on both sides and he pressed Viola's body closer to him as he gritted his teeth. The heat quickly faded, the smell of charcoal flooding the lower level as Primus dared to pry one yellow eye open. Gasping lightly, he stared up at the tall, looming figure that stood with their back to the cowering teens. The hallway was silent for a moment, quiet enough for Primus to hear his heartbeat in his throat. It pulsed and rumbled, almost making him want to throw up.

"Hmm, my my, your manners continue to slip I see." If Primus wanted to throw up before, now he was on the verge of passing out as the voice of Aden Hook came from the body standing in front of him. It invaded his chest like a cement block with every mocking word that escaped his lips. He couldn't see it for himself, but Primus could just feel the irritated aura surrounding the man as the woman who attacked them dropped her foil, the sound of metal against concrete echoing loudly as she dropped down to one knee.

" Aden," She swallowed thickly, her arms started to tremble, "I…"

"I thought I was very clear with my orders." Aden hummed, almost as if he was considering the idea that he was somehow not clear. Which was an idea that was almost laughable. Not even glancing back at the teens behind him, Aden strode up to his subordinate. Primus shivered every time his boot hit the concrete floor, the loud echoes sounded like contained explosions. Shifting Viola in his arms as she groaned, Primus dared take his eyes off Aden to look back at the other two. Mark was sitting slouched against the wall, holding a hand heavily against his side as his shirt was stained by a red blotch of his blood. Near him, Yuro was on his hands and knees, slowly gaining control of his breathing. Both of them were past their limits, and feeling Viola's blood trickled down her face and onto the fabric of his jacket, Primus knew she wasn't going to be any help either. He still had a good amount of strength left, but it wouldn't do him any good if he had to protect his friends and fight Aden.

"I'm sorry, Aden. I'll do better next time," The woman shot him a nasty glare before looking back at the floor, the shadow of her bangs covering her eyes from Aden's curious gaze. Cocking his head to the side, Aden put both his hands in his pockets, quizzically gazing down at the woman before him.

She'd been working for him for almost two years, and had successfully set up two other bases in other small cities. He remembered first seeing her eyes shine with pride as her newly formed army tore through a northern Dust mine, looting everything inside after crushing the Atlas army standing guard outside. The strength that resonated in her voice, the loyalty for him that oozed from her eyes, and the desperate love that shone through every pour every time he praised her. She was one of the best recruiters he had, a perfect subordinate in every sense of the word. Smirking, he resisted the urge to laugh. And for all her accolades, he couldn't remember her name.

"Of course you will," Aden turned his back to her, cape fluttering behind him as he turned his gaze on Primus. A thick lump lodged itself in Primus' throat as Aden's grey eyes soaked in the sight of his target beaten down on the floor. What a wonderful surprise. Earlier in the rally, Aden spotted Primus in the crowd as he struggled to open the door. Aden could see the Lune insignia stitched into the back of his clothes, and a rush of giddiness filled him when Primus and his team were forced to stay and watch, so he decided to put on a bit of a show. He gave the woman strict instructions to keep them from leaving the room the rally was hosted in, and she assured him that all exits were locked prior to the rally to prevent any disturbances. He believed her. Which is why it took everything in him not to throw the mike down and snatch her by the neck when he saw the group escape out a side door.

Now he couldn't just chase after them. No. He needed to address his followers, and convince the new recruits to follow his dream faithfully. Finally stopping only inches away from Primus, Aden gave the boy a rueful smirk.

"So this is the heir that managed to dodge two of my elite fighters," Aden's smile grew as Primus said nothing, but glared up at him, "I trained them myself you know, I'm rather proud of them. So you must understand why I'm so curious about you, Primus Lune."

"You'll have to forgive me, because I did not want to meet you. At all." Primus sassed, trying to think of a way for them to get out of this. Mark and Yuro were somewhere behind him, more than likely unconscious if they weren't making any noise. He might be able to carry them all out, if he made them light enough, but he would have to walk. Clenching his hands on Viola, Primus knew that there was no way he was walking out of here, so that wouldn't work.

"Understandable." Aden hummed, eyes drawn down to Viola, who was struggling to force herself awake, "Not many people are interested in facing the one who will pass down judgment for their sins." Looking further down, Aden saw the two boys who managed to take down his guards. Neither looked particularly important, but they're strong enough to take down so many guards. As expected of students of Reverie Academy.

"Primus," Viola struggled to stay conscious as two pairs of eyes snapped down to focus on her. Primus muttered for her not to worry, but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself. Watching the exchange with interest, Aden ignored the sound of feet as the last few guards came into the hallway, instantly freezing when they saw him.

"Mr. Aden, sir," one of the guards started, words failing him for a moment before he gathered up enough courage to continue, "What are your orders, sir?" Slowly dragging his grey eyes back to the heir before him, Aden tapped his finger to forehead in mock contemplation.

"Well I certainty don't need any extra prisoners, and they've proven themselves too strong to be let go." Aden shrugged lightly, "Take them to the other side of town and dispose of them. They're no good to me. You," Aden turned back to look at the kneeling woman on the floor, "Restrain the Lune boy and prepare to transport him to Headquarters first thing in the morning." The guards nodded as one marched forward and roughly grabbed ahold of Viola's arm, paying little attention to the boy holding her.

"Wait!" Primus clung tightly to Viola as one of the guards tried to yank her from his hands, looking over, he saw Yuro and Mark being gathered off the ground rather roughly. Digging his fingers into Viola's arm, he prayed she'd forgive him for the bruises.

"Really, don't be so dramatic about this. It's going to happen one way or another so stop with the theatrics." Aden scoffed as Viola was finally torn from Primus' hands. The boy fell forward, grunting a bit as he brought his arms up to stop his fall.

"Dang it," Primus' eyes snapped up as Mark began to come back to reality. He was still bleeding heavily, but tried to squirm out of the guard's hands, unsuccessfully. Mark blinked heavily, as if his eyes were drenched in syrup. He hadn't fully passed out, but he was out of it for a while. Eyes slowly sliding to the side, Mark could see Yuro fully knocked out, his head hanging limply as the guard threw the boy over his shoulder.

"Leave them alone!" Primus bit out, pushing himself up to his feet and glaring into Aden's eyes. The man was around the same height, if not an inch or so taller, but Primus felt impossibly small under his ashen glare. "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go safely." Bile rose in his throat as the guards marched away with his friends in tow. No. No! His eyes filled with frustrated tears as he reached for them one more time, knowing that he would only grasp air.

"Please," Aden barked out a laugh as the woman came up behind Primus and grabbed his arm, her long manicured nails digging into his skin forcing a hiss from his mouth. "You have nothing to offer me, hell you don't even have any rights within your own company," Aden leaned forward, "Daddy kicked you out didn't he? The only reason you're considered the heir to keep anyone from going after your sister while she's still young. As soon as she grows up, you'll be dropped." Aden laughed as Primus' face flushed red with anger and shame. The woman forced both of his hands behind his back and cuffed them together, standing at attention. Giving her an approving nod, Aden watched as the woman tried to push Primus forward, but he leaned back against her and held his ground.

"You're right, I'm not the real heir," Primus ground out, "but the rest of the world thinks I am. My father won't just ignore my disappearance; it would make him look bad. He'll come looking for me just to save face." At least, Primus hoped so, "If you let them go back and tell Headmistress Rangi, then they'll defiantly know I'm alive. My dad will do or pay whatever you want to get me back. If there's no proof I'm alive, he won't give you squat!" Primus' face fell a bit when Aden burst out in a full bellied laugh. The sound echoed through the halls.

"I don't want him to give me anything," he emphasized the words, "I'm just going to take it. Sorry, but you're not as important as you think you are, especially when my men go get your sister." Ignoring the horrified look on Primus' face, Aden waved the guards off. Thick, heavy tears rolled down his cheeks as he let out a primal roar of desperate rage. How could this have happened, why did he bring them here? Primus struggled against his bonds as his friends were taken away. Digging his heels in the ground, he let out a frustrated wail as he was pulled in the other direction.

XXX

Throben sat against the windowsill facing the academy gate. His breath fogged the cool glass as his patience began to wane. Hickory watched Saffron pace back and forth, rubbing down the carpet with each step. Turning fast on her toes, Saffron chewed on her lip. Morning was coming and they still haven't heard a word from the team. Everything in her screamed that something went wrong. Her mind flashed back to the

"Its been way too long," Saffron broke the silence, eyes blazing as she reached over and grabbed her scroll off her bed, blinking quickly as her eyes tried to adjust to the brightness of the screen. "I'm gonna call Mark."

"Don't," Thorben snapped, never taking his eyes away from the window, "We don't know what's going on, you might draw unwanted attention to them if his phone goes off." Thorben ran his fingers through his hair as Saffron gave a loud groan. He had to restrain himself from agreeing with her. The stars were beginning to fade, and a few birds had started to warm up for their morning serenade. Clutching his own scroll in his hand, a fierce scowl came over his face.

That idiot was supposed to be back by now, and now Hickory, Amber, and Saffron were freaking out, which was leading to him freaking out. No matter how much he tried to block their emotional energy, a bit seeped through and it was frustrating. He couldn't make a clear decision like this. They were supposed to wait till the sun came up, but Thorben wasn't sure if that was a good idea.

Tailing Team WSZP should have only taken three hours at most, and the fact that neither team came back yet was alarming. Taking a deep breath, Thorben shoved himself off the windowsill and walked over to his closet. Yanking out a sweatshirt with the school insignia and pulling it over his head, Thorben walked to the door.

"I'm going to tell Vin," Thorben pulled the door open, when Saffron slapped her hand on the doorframe, using her arm to block Thorben's way. One hip jutted out, Saffron gave him a soft glare.

"Are you crazy, he'll kill you for waking him up this early if you go alone." Saffron stepped out in front of him, throwing him a halfhearted smile. "I'll go with you." Thorben gave her an odd look before just giving in and following her out the door.

"Call me on my scroll if you hear anything before we do!" Thorben called back to Hickory and Amber. The pair walked through the campus, Thorben's bare feet barely making any noise against the ground. Thick puffs of air escaped their mouths with each breath, but they didn't say anything as they approached Vin's housing near the edge of campus. Licking his lips, Thorben contemplated how much his funeral might cost, and if his parents would invite the entire town to the event after Vin's wrath destroyed his fragile body, which it more than likely would. The man was sarcastic and irritating on a regular basis, but could be downright nightmarish when angry.

"Any final words?" Saffron joked as Thorben raised a trembling fist to the simple wooden door. Knocking firmly, Thorben's bear ears twitched as he could feel an omounious presence drip from inside the house. Sometimes he really hated his Semblance.

"I'm going to kill Mark." Thorben muttered, but Saffron couldn't find it in her to laugh as the door swung open. Vin stood before them in his nightwear, rubbing the sleep from his eyes roughly as he stared down at the two children before him with irritated glower.

"Do I even want to know what you brats are doing here at this time of night?" He drawled out, leaning heavily against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest impatiently. He was having a nice dream and he'd like to get back to it as soon as possible. However, with the way these two were fidgeting under his gaze, he doubted he'd be that lucky.

"Some of our teammates didn't come back last night, we think something bad might have happened to them." Thorben suppressed a yelp when Vin took a daunting step towards them, now fully awake.

"What do you mean they didn't come back?" Vin growled out, letting his arms fall to his side and balled his hands into fist. Thorben swallowed loudly and leaned back a bit, intimidated by the man's sheer presence. Vin's arms flexed and relaxed over and over again, the muscles bulging with the effort not to grab the two students by the collar and drag them to Rangi so she could deal with it. Then he remembered the tired look on Rangi's face, the way her hair wasn't as neat as usual and the way the bags under her eyes aged her, and Vin let out a breath.

"Well you see, its kind of a long story," Saffron stuttered out, panic making the words fly out of her mouth before she could process them, "Its really only one of our teammates. Mark, and parts of Team PAVY. You see, we were hanging out downtown tonight and, well, we saw Team WSZP and they were acting all weird. Like weirder than usual because they're pretty weird already. So Primus wanted to follow them and," Saffron jumped a bit when Vin's fist collided with the doorframe.

"Primus Lune, again?" He was almost yelling as he yanked both students inside his house and slammed the door behind him. Stalking around the house, he quickly got dressed, and yelled out "keep talking!"

"Well he, Viola, Yuro, and Mark went after them, but they haven't come back yet." Saffron moved out of the way as Vin came stalking back into the main room, dressed in his day clothing and tugging his fingerless gloves on his hands. "That's about it."

"Have you tired to contact them?" Vin grabbed his scroll and sent a fast text to the city police office. The more eyes he had looking for these kids the better. This was the worst possible time for this to happen. Primus was missing in the middle of a major powershift, for all they knew he might have been taken. Vin bit his lip a bit, and if the others were with him, they were most likely dead. Whoever was kidnapping the heirs seemed to have no interest in leaving witnesses.

"I've been sending text since midnight, but I didn't want to call and risk getting them in trouble if they're in danger," Thorben forced out, his back aching from standing so straight.

"Damn it, you disobedient brats." Vin scowled them, lacing up his boots, "You two stay here, if I come back to an empty house," Vin paused, remembering his status as a teacher, "Well lets just say your parents won't know how to put you back together again."

XXX

"Good work, child. I'm afraid I'll have to cancel our little rendezvous tomorrow," Aden paused as the light voice over his scroll became a tad concerned, "No, no I'm sure this won't be a problem, hmm, is that so?" Aden ran his fingers over the wall, feeling the little bumps of the cement. The voice on the other end continued to argue their case, and he listed patiently, "What do the others think," he paused, "How noble of you. You've always been such a spoiled child, far more so than my other students. However, I won't indulge you this time. You're staying where you are, is that clear?" A small laugh escaped him before he hung up, shaking his head at his student's rebellious antics. They could sass him all they wanted, as long as they understood their place when it mattered.

"Sir," Vin slowly turned to look at the woman with green hair, she stood at backbreaking attention with two guards flanking her from behind. Tucking is scroll away he turned to fully face her.

"Is everything taken care of like I asked?" Vin questioned flatly, not really in the mood to spend a moment more in Dorado than he had to. He wanted to move Primus out of the city as soon as possible, less commotion that way.

"The Lune boy has been prepared for departure, and the others have been taken to the docks. They'll be disposed of as soon as you're train leaves." The woman felt an itch in the back of her neck, but didn't dare scratch it. Giving her an exasperated look, Vin ran his fingers roughly through his dark hair.

"Any particular reason why it isn't being done now? Like I asked," Vin crossed his arms over his chest impatiently, "I thought we already had our talk about following orders." The woman froze under his gaze, the mask covering the lower half of her face dropping when she frowned a bit.

"Of course, sir, we just wanted to make sure there was no way their deaths could be traced back to you or anyone in the organization. They police and Academy will start sniffing around when they find the bodies, so the sooner the Dorado recruits are evacuated the less chance we risk of them finding us." The woman brushed a lock of green hair from her face, waiting patiently as Vin mulled her response over.

"How long will it take you to shut down this base?" Vin raised a questioning eyebrow.

"No more than six hours. The new recruits are being assigned to their new training areas now, as soon as we hand them their new uniforms, they'll be ready to move. The rest of the time will just be destroying this floor and any trace of our existence. I want to be thorough. " The woman bowed as Vin waved her away dismissively, walking into the shadows.

"Have it all done in four. I don't want to risk anyone figuring out we were here, the sooner we leave the better," He paused for a moment, and glanced back over his shoulder, "and as soon as everything is done, relocate yourself to Atlas, you'll be serving there under the commander. The Dorado elite team will stay here until I say otherwise." The woman's eyes widened, a silent breath filling her lungs as she protested.

"But, I was supposed to join the elite team here in Dorado, you promised," She stopped when Vin turned back to look at her. Her stare robbed her of breath as the insatiable bloodlust in his grey eyes threatened to knock her over.

"You promised," He mocked, "That tonight would go smoothly, you promised that no one knew we were here." Aden gestured towards the damaged hallway, cracks and craters in the walls in the floor from the previous scuffle, "Does this look like it went smoothly? Its pure luck that someone on the surface didn't hear all the fighting and come down to check! We could have been uncovered tonight thanks to your stupid mistake." The woman recoiled back into herself, blinking away the tears as he laughed cruelly at her faults. How could he be so cruel, after she served him so faithfully for so long? Did he not care for her at all? Did he not respect all her success up until this night? The woman stared brokenly at the ground as Aden scoffed at her and walked away, the guards on her side stayed silent and patiently awaited her next orders.

She brought a hand to her heart, feeling it pulse under her hand as she tried to calm her breathing. All of her work and struggles were destroyed the mere instant she allowed those brats into her base. Now, her chance of joining the ranks of the elite, of becoming something more than a babysitter for new recruits was gone. She dedicated years of her life to the cause, to Aden, and yet he still looked at her with such dismissive eyes and mocking pity. It was clear that he would never love her, not in the way she loved him. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he remembered her name.

That thought stabbed at her chest, making her tremble a bit in her heartbreak. It was always a long shot, she knew that, but she hoped that if she proved herself by moving up in the ranks, he'd at least take notice of her. Take the time to get to know her, and then maybe, just maybe love her.

She remembered the first time she looked upon him, the way he towered above the mass of bodies. People were screaming, thrusting signs of protest into the air. Down with big business. Down with low pay and high risk. Down with seventeen hour work days six days a week. She herself was covered in a layer of grime, the sunlight stinging her eyes as she emerged from the Dust mine with dozens of other protesters.

 _"Raise the pay or lesser days!" She chanted over and over again, her throat burning from the dryness of the unforgiving sun. Her water rations had long since run out, and she refused to give into the temptation of abandoning the protest to get more. Sometime you have to suffer for what you believe in, she reminded herself, wiping a thick layer of sweat from her forehead. Glancing down, she almost gagged at the sight of her arm covered in a layer of dirt and grime, now smeared messily against her skin. More than likely some got on her forehead, but she tried not to think about it. There was nothing glamorous about working in a Dust mine. No one would judge her._

 _"There you are!" A faunas with vibrant yellow hair stained and dulled from years of working underground. Careful of his droopy dog ears, he muscled his way through the crowd and flashed her with an excited smile. "I've been looking for you for an hour, when did you get out here?" She rolled her eyes and pumped her sign in the air, ignoring the cramp in her side from dehydration._

 _"I'm always one of the first people out here, Dug, you know that." The woman snorted haughtily, blowing a greasy strand of hair from her face. Dug laughed at her, plucking the sign from her hand and joining in merrily. Resisting the urge to smile at his enthusiasm, the woman continued her chant even louder this time. Dozens of sticky, dusty bodies surrounded her, all chanting the same songs one by one. As the day rolled on and her voice went hoarse, more people abandon their mining to join them. She couldn't help but smile as their dozens grew to hundreds. Even when her head grew light and her skin burned under the sun and started to peel red, she stood proudly at the front of the mob, shouting and yelling with Dug by her side._

 _Closing her eyes and throwing her head back, she couldn't help but let out a carefree laugh. She'd been working in these mines for years, since she was legally able, to help support her family. She, her father, mother, and uncle all worked fifteen hour days, six days a week but only managed to earn enough to keep their little shack standing and a meager bowl of watered down soup and warm bread in their bellies. Her mouth started to water at the thought of her mother's bread._

 _"Uh oh," Dug cringed; shading is eyes with the sign as dust trails kicked up in the distance. Snapping her eyes open she watched the armored ships speed towards them, hovering low to the ground. "We're in trouble," Dug whined, dropping the sign. She watched, memorized, as dozens of human and robotic guards marched out of the ship and stand across from the protestors. The contrast was laughable. The guards stood in sleek, white, reflective uniforms while the miners stood in rags, covered in thick layers of dirt. One of the guards raised a megaphone to his lips, screeching at them to get back to work or risk their jobs. Mummers started to go up in the crowd. That was to high a price for many of these families to pay. The woman watched helplessly as more and more people put down their signs and trudged back to their mines. Breathing in deeply, she reached down and pulled the sign on the ground up into her arms and started screaming the chant once more._

 _"Raise the pay or Lesser days!" Over and over she shouted, her own voice scratching at her throat as she heard herself echo among the silent crowd. Were they really just going to give up like that? They finally had the guards standing across from them, now they had to listen. This wasn't the time to be silent, she had to say something! Dug gave her a curious look that she couldn't decipher, before he started chanting too. Their voices rang out loud and scratchy as others joined in, louder, and louder._

 _The guard only scoffed at them, and sent his men forward. They pushed at the crowd with spears that crackled with the very Dust these people painstakingly gathered from the ground. But the protesters held their ground, the woman leading the group in their chant. One of the guards grabbed her arm, making her yelp at the pressure that threatened to snap her bones in half. Dug was there in a second, separating them and lunging at the guard. A fight broke out._

 _Later that night, the woman sat around a fire with a dozen or so of the other miners, listening to the flames crackle against the wood with a blanket draped around her shoulders and a mug of weak tea in her hands. Her skin stung in the places where the frayed blanket scratched against the cuts and bruises on her skin. A man came over to her, and laid a heavy, wrinkled hand on her shoulder, giving her a knowing look._

 _"I'm so sorry, there is nothing that can ease the pain of losing a friend." The man's trembling voice soothed over her as she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, holding back a sob as she thought of Dug. His happy smile and gleaming eyes that always found her in the darkest parts of the mines and lit up her day. She met him on her first day, and he kindly followed her like a loyal puppy since. She went over his house for dinner, got to know his charming mother and hellish elder sister. There were moments when she even thought she wouldn't mind settling down with him one day. The old man noticed her silence and continued, "Is this your first time losing a friend in protest?" She took in a sharp breath and looked at him. He said that like there would be more._

 _"Yes, it is." She whispered lightly, "It was my fault. He was only watching out for me and they shot him. They shot him because he was out there with me." Dug wasn't a confrontational soul. Had she not pressed him to go with her to every rally, had she not insisted on being a bigger part of the movement, Dug would have never taken part of those rallies. He would not have been there to get shot._

 _"It is not your fault child, your friend was the victim of circumstance. I heard of what happened, it seems there was little reason for the man to shoot other than he was afraid." The old man did not flinch when she tore the blanket off her and there it to the ground, glaring at him angrily._

 _"But why? They never even had to come near us in the first place, we weren't doing anything wrong! We have the right to protest!" The woman bared her teeth, the picture of Dug's body stained in her mind. The old man sighed, and stared into the flame._

 _"There is little reason to these types of things, child. Rights and fairness are often fickle things. Always changing with man and his ever changing values. But that is not a bad thing, it allows us to improve, even if for every step forward we must trudge through chaos and death. We must never stop moving forward," he looked over and gave her a gentle smile, "you must never stop moving forward."_

 _Later in the night the major leaders of the protesters gathered around the same fire, Kiki scooted in close to hear every word, now more invigorated than ever. She would not let Dug's death be in vain. She would see this movement through to the end, no matter what. Although, as she started listening to these men talk, she had her doubts. They wanted to do another walk out? After the tragedy that just happened? Eight protesters were killed today, but they wanted to do another peaceful protest? Should they not arm themselves, the guards obviously had no problem hurting them. Her opinions pushed at her lips, threatening to burst out when a man stood up in the crowd and the leaders looked to him with annoyed interest._

 _"Who are you?" one of the leaders snorted, noticing the man's clean clothes and well kept hair. He was obviously not a miner. Then she looked at him, and her heart felt like a ticking bomb when he gave them all a gracious smile, like a king politely pitying his foolish subjects._

 _"That's matter little for now. I am more interested in your protest for tomorrow." His voice smoothed over the fire with a breeze, teasing it lightly as everyone fell silent and stared curiously at this intriguing new man. "How long will it take you to realize that this method of protest will not accomplish anything? How many more of you must bleed out in the sun before you realize that peace is pointless because they don't value your lives as much as they value the rocks in that cave?" It was like he stole the words from her throat, and twisted them in a more eloquent and thoughtful way. He strode forward slowly, a prince among peasants as the group parted quickly to allow him to get closer to the leaders in the middle._

 _"It is the only way," One of the female leaders bit out, "Unless you know a better way?"_

 _"Of course. It is simple logic to understand that if they will not listen to reason, to truth, to desperate pleas, then we must make them listen another way. They feel nothing for your suffering because they live in luxury far away from here. They do not see you, and even if they did, they would be to disgust by your existence to hear you. Your protest now relies on the principal that no person wants to see another suffering, but you've been proven wrong over and over." Aden turned his back to them and faced the crowd, "They don't care about you or your suffering and they never will. If you want change you must take it, you must force them to listen."_

 _"Violence then?" The old man from before pushed himself shakily to his feet, a deep scowl on his face, "That's a dangerous road to go down, sonny. Especially when most of the people here are weak from long hours of work and have no experience with fighting at all." Aden regarded him with a polite nod of the head._

 _"There are many among you have potential to be great fighters, far greater than those who fight to protect you now from the Grimm. I can teach you, I can train you to be strong. These people that oppress you do not listen to weakness, so you must talk to them in the only way they understand, through power. Follow me, and I can show you the way." The woman listened to cheers and yells go up through the crowd, a surge of excitement and hope flooded through her as Aden's eyes met hers. The cool darkness of his eyes drowned her in their depths, in their power, in their promise. It was then that she realized how miraculous this man really was, and she wanted it. She wanted to reach out and get a touch of that power, to do her part in ending this madness._

The woman came back to the present as one of the guards cleared his throat. Fixing her mask, she turned back to them. Now calm, her face was a perfect mask of grace and pride once again. This was not the time for musing. Folding her hands in front of her, she took one gingerly step forward.

"Begin the preparations for departure instantly. Tell the guards to move all the recruits to the west room and start tearing everything else down. Aden wants everything done in four hours, so I will have it done in three." She still had her pride, and as she walked down the hall she could feel her confidence returning. This was not the end of her. Tilting her head to the side, she could hear the mummer of the recruits getting ready, "There will be no slacking off, anyone who doesn't complete their assignment in time will face me." With that the guards left her to convey her orders. Inhaling deeply, she painted a smile on her face. Just like she didn't give up at the mines, she would not be beaten here. She would prove to Aden that she was more than worthy of being part of his elite. After all, her name was Kiki Mora, and she never gave up.

A/N: Thank you for reading, and please, please, review. It really helps me and motivates me to write faster. The SYOC will close today at 7:00 PM Central Time. No submissions by review will be considered. I will start contacting authors who submitted characters tonight to make possible changes. Remember just because I ask you to make some changes does not mean the character is accepted. If your character is accepted I will literally tell you "[Insert name here] has been accepted."


	11. End of the Beginning

Mark dragged his feet against the smooth cobblestone path as the guard forced him forward, putting a firm hand in the center of his back. Licking his lip, he tried to ignore the throbbing pain that burned at his side, blood still dripping down the side of his body. It was nothing short of a miracle that he hadn't passed out from blood loss by now, but as he tried to flex his fingers and wriggle his wrist in his binds, Mark admitted that being conscious wasn't doing him any favors.

Tilting his head up, he stopped sharply as his eyes swam and his stomach twisted sharply in his gut. Falling to his knees, Mark dry heaved on the ground as the guard gave the most irritated groan he's ever heard in his life. His breaths came fast as he was yanked back to his feet. Stumbling a bit, Mark wanted to snap at the man. If he thought he was having a rough day, Mark had news for him.

Lifting his head up a bit slower this time, Mark blinked a bit as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The stars were bright against the black sky, and the shattered moon sat eerily on the horizon. Viola dangled limply over the shoulder of one of the guards, her blonde hair ripped from its ponytail and splotched with blood. Craning his head to see behind him, Mark watched as Yuro trudged along, stumbling over rocks and cracks in the path as his guard yanked and pulled at his bindings mercilessly. Looking forward, Mark grit his teeth as the grasshoppers hummed loudly when they passed under a tree. They must have gotten Primus, no doubt Aden had him transferred far away from Dorado at this point. None of them were in any condition to do anything about it either, but hopefully someone back at the academy would have alert the professors to their absence by now.

Sirens sounded in the distance, their shrill beat making the guards freeze for a moment as the police lights lit up the streets of Dorado. Mark almost wanted to laugh, talk about good timing.

"Should we just get rid of them here?" Yuro's guards kicked him in the back of the knees, making the white haired boy grunt when his knees crashed against the stone ground.

"Miss Kiki specifically said to take them all the way to the other side of the city near the water." The bulky man holding Viola huffed, turning slightly to face his comrades. Mark begged all the stars in the sky that they would choose to keep moving. The sirens were still a bit off, but there was a chance someone might find them if they kept moving for a bit longer.

"True, but she'll be furious if we don't get rid of them because we wanted to wait till we get to the dock," Mark's guard hummed deeply in his chest, "Tell you what," He shoved his fingers roughly through Mark's tangled hair and pushed him to the ground, pointing his gun at Mark's temple, "We'll kill them here and move their bodies to the water, that way, no matter what, we don't have to worry about someone coming to save them."

"Sounds like a plan," There was a heavy thud and grunt, "Not a good plan, but a plan." A surge of relief and gratitude flooded Mark so hard he wanted to cry as Vin's sarcastic drawl washed over him.

Vin crossed his arms over his chest as he rested one foot on the back of one of the guard's back. So these were the bastards that were causing so much trouble in his city. Glancing briefly at the students, his blood began to boil and he ground the heel of his foot deeper into the man's back, feeling no satisfaction when he groaned pitifully.

"Who the hell are you!" Mark's guard slammed gun against Mark's head, before turning to face Vin as the boy passed out. Another guard dropped Viola carelessly on the ground, before pulling out his own weapon. Four guards slowly moved towards him, their eyes burning as they stared at the red headed man.

"Oh dear," Vin licked his lips, focusing on the high tech guns in their hands. No doubt about it, these guys were connected with the organization that's been doing all the robberies. Those guns haven't even been released to Atlas guards yet, pretty stupid mistake to walk around Dorado showing those things off. Anyone could have seen them.

"I know him," One of the guards boldly walked before the others, "that's Huntsman Vin Rosso, hero of the Haven Wall War." She sneered, hoisting her weapon up and aiming straight at him, "Don't underestimate him."

"How flattering that even the scum of the earth know my name." Vin scoffed, readjusting his fingerless gloves on his hands, "If you know who I am, then you probably already know," A strong breeze blasted against their faces, knocking one of the guards to his back, "I don't show mercy."

XXX

"I swear I'm gonna get out of this, and when I do, you're gonna pay!" Primus declared loudly, wiggling against the binds on his arms and legs. He refused to believe that they would actually kill his friends, he couldn't believe that or he just might give up. Panting hard, a bit of his white hair fell out of place and into his eyes as he tried to forcibly break the wire that bound him. The guards ignored him, muttering quietly together under their mask as they pulled the boxcar door shut, closing them all inside.

Kiki looked off into the distance towards the city center, the wind catching in her hair. Blue and red florescent lights spread out through the streets, giving the city a strobe light glow. Damn it, they already started moving. Tightening her fist, she waved at the conductor to start the engine. It was all those kids fault, they must have tipped off the police somehow, hopefully the men she assigned to handle them had already done the deed.

"You look tense, Kiki. Finally realizing how worthless you are?" The red eyed man laughed cruelly as he leaned against the rumbling train with a mocking smirk on his lips. Kiki glared dangerously at him, smoothing out her hair and marching away from the little terror. She stopped instantly, when someone emerged in front of her, the short girl's cloudy grey eyes looked up at Kiki curiously as Kiki bit back a frustrated sigh. So it seems Aden didn't trust her to take care of this simple task after all.

"All the preparations have been completed and all the new recruits have already left for training. We're just waiting for his departure before I dismiss the final thirty guards." She struggled to keep a professional demeanor as she side stepped the red headed girl and continued on her way. Glaring at the cobblestone path, Kiki wanted to rip her hair out when she heard two pairs of soft footsteps following her closely.

"You know, it really hurts Cerise's feelings when you're so mean to us, Kiki." The boy teased, shoving his hands into the pocket of his trench coat, "Come on now, if we're going to work together as Aden's elite guard, we have to get along," The boy then gasped dramatically, putting a mocking hand over his heart as Kiki felt her ears burn and her anger burn, "Oh dear me, I forgot. You're not part of his elite guard are you? How horrible, you can't even hold a simple recruitment meeting right," He gave a dark laugh as the red head beside him, Cerise, glanced around at the city curiously, more than likely ignoring her partner's bad behavior.

Kiki spun on her heels, grabbing the handle of her foil so tight the veins in her knuckles bulged. "Hold your tongue, or I'll take it from you, Thalen!" She roared, taking a challenging step towards the taller man.

"Is that a promise?" Thalen smirked, a crazed gilt coming into his eye as he lifted his hands to fight. Kiki swallowed lightly, feeling the oppressive waves of bloodlust wash off of him as they snarled at one another. How she hated this guy.

Cerise gave a silent sigh and stepped between them, frowning deeply at Thalen until he scoffed and stood up straight, before turning her grey eyes towards Kiki. The two girls watched each other for a moment, before Kiki exhaled and straightened herself up, letting go of her weapon.

"You always ruin my fun, Cerise." Thalen chuckled, but there was little humor in his voice. Watching him carefully, Cerise waited for him to walk in front of her, before continuing down the path. The guards, visibly shaken by the display of aggression, got back into formation around the three powerful huntsman and guided them down the path.

Kiki grabbed her foil as a man gave running up to them, his Nightfall uniform in tatters and part of his leg bleeding heavily. Her heart sank as she recognized him as one of the men she sent to deal with the extra kids.

"Miss Mora, Miss Mora!" The man wailed, skidding to a halt when he saw the two others with her. Around their neck they wore the bronze pendants with battle axes carved into the metal. Members of the Elite Guard.

"What is it!" He forced himself to focus on the hard edge in her voice as she approached him. Falling to one knee, he kneeled before her with his head low.

"Squadron 24 has been defeated, and the captives were rescued before we could complete our mission. Forgive me." The man coughed thickly, a bit of blood gushing out from his wound. Kiki stood frozen as Thalen howled with laughter, Cerise watching the kneeling man with a pitying look.

"Oh man, Aden's gonna be pissed! How did you mess that up?" Thalen continued laughing as Kiki yanked the man up by his collar, her eyes burning with anger and desperation. How could this have happened.

"What happened?"

"It was Vin Rosso, ma'am," At that Thalen stopped laughing, "He took us down so easily, we didn't have a chance." The man whimpered, trying to push back tears when Kiki let him go slowly. This was bad, so very bad.

"Vin Rosso," Thalen hissed, "The hero of the Haven Wall War?" Striding up to the injered man, he grabbed him by the arm, making the man cry out as his bone was snapped clean in half from the force of Thalen's fingers, "Does he know who you were working for? Did he capture anyone?"

"Yes, sir," the man squeaked, tears now falling freely from his eyes. Thalen felt a bit of a rush at his obvious pain, but ignored it for now, "He got our second in command."

"Damn it," Thalen roughly threw the man to the ground, towering over him darkly, "You useless idiot, so now Vin Rosso probably knows who we are and where we're going! Did anyone follow you back here?"

"We need to alert the train immanently, I'll have them reroute to another base, maybe in Vale." Kiki desperately, scrambled around, yelling orders to the present guards. Thalen swallowed thickly as he thought about how Aden was going to react to this.

XXX

He awoke to an incessant beeping. Groaning lowly, he could feel his ribs pulsing with a dull pain, seems like they were only giving him enough meds to make it bearable. Prying his eyes open, Yuro licked his painfully chapped lips as his eyes adjusted to the bright white light of the hospital room. His joints ached as he tried to push himself up, only for a firm hand to gently force him back down.

"Easy there, Yuro, you're still to banged up to move right now," Amber's dark skin glowed under the artificial light, the curtains drawn shut behind her. Giving a small nod, Yuro relaxed on the surprisingly comfy bed, his eyelids heavy as he watched his teammate call for a nurse.

"Amber," His voice was scratchy, as if he just swallowed a mouthful of sand, "The others…"

"Don't talk either," She gave him a patient smile as a nurse rushed in a checked his vitals. Bringing a foam cup to his lips, the nurse nodded happily when he drank greedily, promising to bring him something to eat in a bit. Amber leaned back in her chair as she sat quietly. The digital clock hummed lightly, and the news channel whispered in the background. Glancing at the headline, Amber couldn't help but feel a bit of bitterness when the anchor announced all evidence of Nightfall's presence was destroyed before the police arrived.

She remembered when Thorben and Saffron burst into their room later that morning, telling her and Hickory that the missing team was being taken to the hospital. Well most of them anyway. Amber didn't want to, couldn't, think about Primus. It was surprising how heartbroken she felt when Vin informed them of his disappearance. What Amber felt wasn't the empathic loss she imagined she would feel towards Viola, who just lost her partner in crime. No, this was the raw, heart shredding pain of losing a dear friend. She cried for Primus, she cried and sobbed and heaved until she was too tired to grieve anymore and her body filled with loneliness.

Although it shouldn't be too much of a surprise she supposed, watching as Yuro struggled to stay awake and watch the news report. Amber was a shy girl, and most of her life playing in the forest alone. Its not that the other children didn't want to play with her, everyone in her village was very warm and welcoming, its simply that Amber was too shy to join in their games, or to ask them to join in hers.

Back home, she was always rather lonely. Her mother worked long hours as a nurse and her father often stayed behind improving the communication tower. They loved her dearly, and supported her dreams with everything they knew. Yet, she had no close friends her own age, and although the hunters that passed through the village were always kind, it wasn't the same as having a friend your age to laugh and play with.

Becoming a huntress in her small village was hard. It was a peaceful place, and the only huntsman that stayed there were those who passed through a few times a year on their way to push back any Grimm that were moving a tad bit to close for comfort. As she followed silently in their shadows in awe, her mother bit her lip in worry but stayed silent. Amber's timid and quiet nature had her mother convinced that she was too delicate to be a hunter, but the woman never voiced her thoughts out loud, only giving praise when she could.

But when she came to Reverie Academy things were different. She was just as timid and nervous as she was as a child, but Team PAVY didn't treat her like a weakling because of it. In fact, her calm demeanor became a source of stability in the team, especially in the beginning when the group was rather fragmented. Unlike Yuro, she was always there to quietly listen to her teammates rant. They trusted her with their frustrations, their struggles their fears, their triumphs.

They treated her like a long time friend, always including her and wanting her input. Leaning back in her chair, a weak smile came to her face as she reminisced. Like the times when she and Yuro would throw each other knowing glances when Viola and Primus argued over video games, or when she and Viola spent the night in the library gossiping about the world's greatest huntsman rather than studying, or when she and Primus would giggle madly as they raided Yuro's not so secret stash of candy. What fun they had once they all become more comfortable with one another.

The nurse popped in with a tray balanced carefully in one hand, a clipboard in another as she used her foot to press the pedal to raise Yuro into a sitting position. Setting him up rapidly, she dashed from the room in a frenzy of bright orange smocks and black hair.

"Here, let me help," She gave Yuro a small smile as she schooched onto his bed, careful not to unbalance anything from his lap. He gave her a stubborn look when she cut a piece of fish and raised it to his mouth.

"I'm perfectly capable of eating on my own, Amber." He frowned, and Amber had to stifle a laugh as he turned his face from her, pouting lightly.

"What horrible manners, Yuro!" A teasing voice entered the room as Thorben popped his head inside the plainly decorated room, his scruffy brown hair even more of a mess on top of his exhausted head. "A pretty lady is offering to feed you, and you turn her away so coldly," Thorben plopped himself down next to Amber in one of the chairs, giving her a pleading look, "I would be honored to be fed by you, beautiful princess."

"Back off my teammate, Sage," Yuro chuckled lightly as Amber gave Thorben a shy smile. If nothing else, being around her teammates always gave her a boost of confidence. Normally, she wouldn't be able to even look at Thorben after a jest like that, but with Yuro by her side, it was more than bearable. In fact, it was even a bit funny.

"Wow, Thorben, we send you in here to check up on Yuro alone for three seconds and you're already causing trouble!" Saffron burst into the room like a wisp of blonde hair and yellow clothing. Hickory, like the mature teammate she was, walked quietly into the room with a small smile on her face and heavy bags under her eyes.

"Ah, well you only said I couldn't annoy Mark, you never said anything about Yuro!" Thorben ducked under a playful punch from Saffron, before Hickory stepped between them and pulled them down to sit on each side of her. It was a rather comical sight. The tiny mouse girl patiently sitting down as her two tall and energetic friends made faces at one another over her head.

"Honestly, you're all way to old to be so loud in a hospital!" RAngi strode into the room with hard purple eyes glittering under the artificial light. Just like that everyone was on their best behavior, Saffron sat up a bit straighter when Rangi walked over to Yuro's bed side and laid a gentle hand on his forehead.

"Headmistress, I," Yuro started weakly, before a fit of coughing tore at his lungs, knocking any coherent thought from his brain. Rangi frowned a bit before channeling some of her Aura into the poor boy, jump starting his own healing factor. As the coughs slowed, Amber handed the boy a small towel to wipe his mouth, which he took dutifully.

"It's a miracle that you're alive Yuro, do not rush your body by trying to speak or move. You suffered by far the most extensive damages. We have all the information we need at this point between Viola and Mark, so do not stress yourself." Rangi crossed her hands in front of her, staring down each of the children in the room. "Enough information to help the police and to expel you all that is." A dreadful cloud overtook everyone as Vin walked into the room, leaning against one of the walls.

"But why? They uncovered the greatest threat to the world ever, and they even figured out who the leader is!" Thorben scowled deeply, but instantly relaxed when Vin's harsh gaze snapped to him.

"Why?" He growled out, straightening up to stand beside Rangi, "Did you forget that you handed the heir of the Lune company over to the very organization that was hunting him, or that three of you are hospitalized. Not to mention this isn't your first time where your involvement has required assistance from the Dorado police unit. And you dare to ask her why?" Vin leaned over a bit so he was eye level with Thorben, "I'll tell you why, brat. You've broken curfew, endangered yourselves and the other students, failed to follow protocol in a combat situation, acted on your own without orders, put Dorado into a state of emergency when our resources are already spread thin, damn it I could go on and on but I frankly don't even want to look at any of you at this point."

"Vin!" Rangi snapped, watching tiredly as the man returned to her side, if not grumpily. "What Vin said is true, even one of those offenses could have you expelled, and some of them might even wind you up in legal trouble." Rangi paused to let her words sink in. they needed to fully understand the consequences of their actions, "As Hunters and Huntress, we have an incredible amount of power that civilians can only dream of. Many of you do not realize your power, and that is dangerous. While I commend your initiative, you may not recklessly chase after unknown adversaries. You did that tonight, and one of your own is now gone." She paused again, before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I can think of no greater punishment for your actions than the guilt and sadness you feel at the loss of your friend, and I fear that if I do expel you, then you will only try to retrieve him on your own and end up dead."

"Rangi," Vin warned in a low whisper, but she ignored him.

"So I will not expel you." Everyone perked up slightly, looking at her with awe and thanking the heavens for her mercy, "However, one more incident like this, and I won't hesitate, ok?" There were nods of acceptance and even some happy tears from Amber, until Vin stomped his foot and made everyone jump.

"Headmistress Rangi just spared your miserable asses from marching home in shame with your tail between your legs! Thank her properly!" Vin snarled, taking an intimidating step forward. The group instantly began singing her praises and thanking her endlessly. Sighing heavily, Rangi felt a thick weight settle on her shoulders as she threw the grinning Vin an annoyed glance. He didn't need to take it that far.

Amber exhaled deeply as the door shut behind the two teachers. Turning back to look at Yuro, she watched his steady breathing as his eyes slid shut with exhaustion. Returning to the chair at his side, Amber quietly waited but she didn't know what for. The others eventually trailed out of the room, wanting to see get back before sunset so they wouldn't miss dinner. Amber knew she should have went with them, but she couldn't bear to move just yet. She hasn't even seen Viola yet, and she knew that would be an emotional reunion.

The sun fell quickly behind her, she could feel the last few rays of light on her back before the sun slipped though the mountain. Her scroll chimed, jarring her from her mediation as she read the message from Hickory. Looks like there was going to be another informational meeting about the Vytal Festival in a few days.

The Vytal Festival.

She completely forgot about the tournament with everything that's going on. Staring sadly at Yuro, she felt tears prickle at her eyes as she remembered that her team of four was now broken down to three. The Vytal Festival was out of the question, but she couldn't care less. Her friend was gone, more than likely dead, and the crushing agony in her chest reminded her of that every second. Tears spilled from her eyes as she grieved, silently and alone.

"Oh?" A voice hummed lightly, "Amber, I thought you would have returned to Reverie by now." Amber stared at the other dark skinned girl with equal surprise. Dawn swept silently into the room, moving to Yuro's bedside and with a blank face, reached out to touch his forehead.

"H-hi Dawn," Amber stood up, ignoring the loud cracking of her back and elbows, "Um, he's on some pretty heavy medication, so uh, he won't wake up till morning, I think." Amber cursed herself as she stuttered. There was something about the other girl that always made her a bit flustered, even if Dawn was always nothing but kind to everyone. Maybe it was the mystery surrounding her. Amber only officially spoke to Dawn once, but knew the other girl used to hang around Yuro a lot when he was distancing himself from them. That was probably it then, Dawn was just a reminder of a time when they didn't get along. A bit of shame bit her, its not like it was Dawn's fault Yuro used to be so distant.

"I would imagine so, his wounds sounded serious." Dawn gave her a gentle smile, removing her hand from Yuro's head.

"I didn't think word would travel so fast." Amber mumbled, quirking an eyebrow when Dawn let out a smooth laugh. Seeing the other girl's confusion, Dawn threw her a wink.

"I pride myself on knowing almost everything that's going on. But," She admitted slowly, "I only heard that three members of Team PAVY were in the hospital after a nasty fight." Amber rubbed her arm nervously and shook her head.

"Only two members of Team PAVY are here, Yuro and Viola. The other person is Mark, from Team MTHS, but the doctor said he'll be released soon." Amber corrected lightly, breathing a sigh of relief. So no one had pieced together the full story yet. Although, now that she thought about it, there were something she didn't even know herself. Like what happened with Team WSZP, what was the school going to do about them?

"Mark? That's weird, why didn't you go?" Dawn bit her lip, when Amber's eyes began to water against her will. Yeah, why didn't she go? That was a question that haunted her since they rolled her team in on gurney's hours ago. Those were her friends, she knew they were going into a potentially hostile situation and she didn't demand to go. Clenching her fist, she let a single tear fall. Her damn timid nature prevented her from protesting when Yuro told her to go back to the school. She should have demanded to go with them.

"I," Amber started, but Dawn put a hand on her shoulder to silence her.

"You don't have to answer that. I'm sorry, that was rude." Dawn froze up a bit when Amber threw her arms around her and gave her a tight hug, trembling slightly in Dawn's arms. Sighing slowly, Dawn returned the hug and glanced over at Yuro's sleeping form. Well this didn't seem to be a good day for anyone.

XXX

Two days had passed since Mark was released from the hospital; side completely healed but a little bruising remained. Prodding at the light yellow blemish on his skin, Mark gave a lazy sigh as he listen to his mother go on and on about how reckless he was and how hard she was going to hit him next time they saw each other. He was not looking forward to that.

"Mark?" Hickory's voice called him from the bedroom. Grunting in response, he slipped on his shirt and left the bathroom. Combing out the few knots and tangles that accumulated in his hair though the day, Mark settled on his bed, feet crossed under him as he observed his team quietly. They'd all been under the weather the past few days, and it was essentially his fault. When Yuro invited him to go with them to track Team WSZP he should have said no, he should have knocked Primus upside the head and, if Primus didn't listen, Mark should have dragged his team back to Reverie Academy. He was the leader of Team MTHS, they were his top priority, not Primus, or Team WSZP, or Nightfall.

Hickory rolled a screwdriver inside her pocket watch, not even flinching when the blades popped out and cut into the fabric of her gloves. Sprawling out on Hickory's bed next to her, Saffron was lazily scanning though some old notes for a quiz they were supposed to take the next day. Then there was Thorben, he was texting furiously on his Scroll. More than likely to his older brother, Thorben told him everything. His fingers paused over the screen for a moment when a resounding ping indicated he got a new message.

"Team PAVY dropped out from the Vytal Festival tryouts," No one was surprised, so he continued, "The judges decided to give Team GLSS a freebie since they went to the Festival last year, so they'll automatically advance to the next round. Team DSCK will now face off against Team CNTR." Thorben announced, dropping his Scroll onto his chest and giving a long yawn. It traveled around the room, hitting them all individually. Hickory let out a soft chuckle when it went full circle and hit Thorben one more time before disappearing for good.

"I can't believe Headmistress Rangi didn't ban us from the Vytal festival for punishment," Saffron blurted out. She couldn't stand the depressing silence that was taking over their time together. It made her nervous, like they weren't getting along.

"Yeah, well its not like they have many teams auditioning to start with, plus it's a good way to keep us occupied and out of trouble." Mark grunted as he pulled a few strands from his hair.

"Well the auditions start tomorrow, do you think we're ready?" Throben propped his head up in his hand, eyes tinted a bit red from lack of sleep. Mark mulled the question over a bit before shrugging.

"Who knows. We've got a genies gadgeteer, a heavy hitting flamethower, a prodigious but annoying arrogant as hell," Thorben scoffed at that, but Mark ignored him, "bear king, and me. A lazy, unmotivated leader who's made more bad calls than anything."

"And a hero who'd give his all for his friends." Mark raised an eyebrow at Thorben, who didn't back down from his gaze, "You forgot that one." Mark let out a single dry laugh and shook his head.

"Yeah, well, with or without me, this team is ready. We'll blow through this, then through the Vytal Festival. And when we're done with all that, we're going to help team PAVY get Primus back." Mark's eyes flashed with excitement and energy for a moment. "That's one thing I promise not to slack on."

 **And so ends the Introduction Arc. Next up the Vytal Festival Arc. This is where most of the new characters will be introduced. We saw two of the new characters in this chapter, but there are about five more SYOC characters to come. Please read and review, I love to hear from you guys.**


	12. Past Lives and Current Relations

"I've got to say, they weren't as bad as I expected them to be." Vin sipped a bit of wine as he watched the same film for the fifth time. The heater hummed to life again, just as the image of Hickory tangling up two members of Team GNGE with a thin wire from her pocket watch before skidding back to the ground. Rangi sat at her desk, ignoring the tape as she completed the forms for the Vytal Festival with swift ease on her Scroll. The forms were altered a tad bit from last year, but not enough to hinder her. Vin paused the screen and turned to walk over to Rangi's regal desk, swirling the wine in his cup as he went.

"We've already discussed this Vin. No drinking on campus, even if there aren't students present." Rangi drawled, not interested in scolding him since he rarely ever listened. Hitting the submit button, she leaned back in the plush chair and breathed a sigh of relief. The sun had long since set as the days slowly became shorter and shorter. Fall was definitely upon them, but luckily the cold front had passed some time ago and the weather was pleasantly mild.

"Yeah, yeah Gi, I know." Knocking back the rest of the wine, he gently placed the empty glass on her desk, "You done yet? I'm ready to get out of here."

"You are more than welcome to leave. I need to look over the notes General Whitefield sent about the movements of Nightfall." Rubbing her face in her hands, Rangi could feel her bones protest the notion of staying up even longer.

After the kidnapping of Primus Lune and the betrayal of Team WSZP, Rangi had not felt a moment of peace. The Lune family was hovering over every little thing she did, and even tried to get her removed from her position on the basis that she was incapable of protecting her students. The Dorado Council did not even consider that proposal. While she had her disputes with some of the council members on various occassions, they valued her as a vital piece of Dorado's military strength. From the time she first walked into this campus till now, she had supplied them with exceptional Hunters and Huntresses. Plus, she came with an added bonus, the loyalty of Vin Rosso. The man was a free agent, and despite the efforts of nearly every kingdom in the world, he was only loyal to his friends and to himself. He came to Dorado for Rangi, and he would leave with her if it came down to it. The Council would not take that risk.

Then, on top of a wealthy family trying to get her fired, the media was in a frenzy over Team WSZP. It was unheard of for a team of first year students to defect so willingly from their school, and the fact that they went to a violent rebel group only made it a more attractive headline. Vin used all his connections to find the team, but it was like they and the rest of Nightfall dropped out of the sky. Rangi clenched the paper a bit tighter in frustration. The moment they got a glimpse of Nightfall, they slipped away into the darkness. They were as fleeting as the time they were named after.

"Damn Rangi, you're burning yourself out. You already know what it says. The same thing the last two did. If there was something new, he would have come in person." Vin plucked the papers from her fingers and crushed them in one hand.

"Vin!" Rangi growled, but it came out more like a whine. Slumping back in her chair, she cursed the Council for using such old methods of communication in the first place. He wouldn't dare crush her Scroll. With a gentle laugh he offered her his hand, and she could only smile as she let him pull her up.

"Come on, Gi, let me make you dinner." Vin smoothly guided her out of the office as he shot her a teasing look. Rolling her eyes at his flirtatious mood, she decided to just put up with it. If only so some other poor woman didn't have too.

"Fine, then you can tell me how you plan to train the advancing teams." The two of them laughed merrily, Vin was always in such a friendly mood when he drank. Normally he was such a pain in her ass, and was a moody nightmare for his students. A dark thought flittered though her mind. She wondered how that Nightfall man Vin captured might view him. After all, Vin was in charge of 'questioning' him. Pushing the thought from her head, she linked her arm with her old friend and thought happy thoughts in the chilly night air. After all, it was only a matter of time before she was swamped with more paperwork.

XXX

"We're going to Vale, we're going to Vale!" Saffron skipped around the group in circles, waving her scroll haphazardly above her head. The rest of Team MTHS laughed good naturedly as they exited the dining hall; bellies full and eyes heavy. The official list was released only seconds before, and Saffron was more than happy to make sure the entire school knew of their accomplishment.

"I am most excited for this endeavor. I am sure Team DSCK will be celebrating just as exuberantly when they get the news." Hickory was on cloud nine as a few random students yelled their congratulations across the lawn. Mark clasped a hand on her shoulder, his shoulder length brown hair flowing slightly in the breeze.

"Its way too late in the evening for you to be using such big words that start with E." Mark teased lightly, a lopsided grin on his face when the team laughed at him.

"Would succinct words that start with S be sufficiently successful then?" The group paused for a moment at Hickory's sass, before they burst out in laughter. Thorben's sides began to ache as he bent over in laughter, trying to catch his breath.

"Try saying that ten times fast!" Thorben almost collapsed in laugher when Saffron imminently took him up on his challenge, fumbling over her words with a giggle. Their voices rang out through the courtyard, and Thorben could feel his stomach tightening in an effort to calm down. He hadn't laughed that hard in a while. Staring at his teammates as they joyfully recounted the auditions and planned an impromptu celebration, Thorben couldn't help the peaceful happiness that swept over him. Only one thing could make this better. Pulling out his scroll as they hiked up the stairs to their dorm room, Thorben shot his elder brother a quick text.

Stretching his arms above his head, Thorben hummed lightly as his back popped, releasing the small bubble of pressure that built up. He last talked to Jupiter four days ago, which in comparison to their usual constant texting, was almost an eternity. The auditions had demanded his absolute attention, and when he had a moment of free time it was either spent doing homework, eating, or passing out wherever he landed.

The rest of the team didn't fair much better. Hickory was constantly fixing their weapons to be in prime condition after every match, although she did express some distaste in repairing them since she could just make the team better weapons altogether. It was the first time he had seen any sort of bitterness in her, but chalked it up to the lack of sleep and constant use of her Semblance.

"Man, I can't wait for the Vytal festival," Saffron punched the air in front of her with a feral grin, "I'm gonna show all those other kids what a Reverie Huntress is made of, right Hickory?" The mouse faunas let out an amused hum as she snuggled a little deeper into her pillow.

"I'm not looking forward to getting through Vin's sadistic training regiment though." Mark yelled from the bathroom, steam drifting into the room as he reentered the room with soaking wet hair and sweat pants. Just like that, Saffron's determined demeanor deflated as a dark cloud of depression settled over her. She mumbled something about a psychopath, before curling up on the ground. Ignoring his melodramatic teammate, Thorben easily stepped over her to reach one of the books on the tall shelf.

"Yeah, that's going to be hell." Thorben mumbled, flipping through the pages until he came to a shiny green bookmark. Returning to his bed, he began to lazily read the historical excerpts with minimal enthusiasm.

"Well at least Team dusk will be suffering along side us." Hickory crossed her legs under her as she stared out the window, running a brush through her hair. Thorben glanced at his Scroll, trying to ignore the sinking feeling as his brother still wasn't answering. Jupiter was important and all, but he rarely didn't have time for Thorben.

His teammates voices became hazy as he drifted into his thoughts. Jupiter was hired to help improve security in Vale during the Vytal festival along with a few other huntsmen. From some of the names that were showing up in the paper, the Kingdom of Vale wasn't pulling any punches when it came to security. There were at least three huntsmen on par with Vin in terms of legendary power, and while his brother wasn't one of them, he was still a pretty respected name.

Nightfall had the kingdoms on their toes. The ball was in their court, and everyone was waiting for them to take their shot. His eyes slid from the paper. Nightfall. The organization that ruined everything. Forcing his thoughts away from the events that led up to Primus' kidnapping, Thorben slowly closed the book and ran his fingers over his face.

What a mess that had been. Team PAVY still hasn't fully recovered from the shock of what happened. Now that he thought about it, he hasn't talked to them in days either. Last time he saw them, Viola was in counseling, Yuro returned to avoiding his teammates, and Amber spent most of her time either with Hickory or alone in her room. It was a total break down, and none of the current team members seemed to want to go back to what they had before.

"Thorben?" Yanked from his thoughts, Thorben blinked up owlishly at Mark, who was running his fingers through his still damp hair, "You ready for lights out or what?"

"Oh yeah," Thorben said lamely, and began clearing everything off his bed, dumping his books on the floor. Mark raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing as he sat down on his own bed and clicked off the last light. He was too tired to poke fun at Thorben, who was usually annoyingly tidy, for making a mess on the floor. That was way too much effort.

XXX

"Please tell me you're not serious?" Vin leaned against one of the training dummies in the middle of the training room, white light widening up the room from the windows on the ceiling. Team MTHS stared him at him blankly, excluding Hickory who shifted from one side to the other. The air-conditioning unit must have malfunctioned, that's why her ears were so warm. There was no way she was turning red with embarrassment. Absolutely not. No way.

"Well," her mumbled turned into a full on squeak when Vin's toxic orange eyes focusing solely on her. Gulping nosily, Hickory stammered over her words, unused to such an irritated look being directed at her. It wasn't like her to fumble when speaking, she was usually so eloquent. Yet, as she dodged Vin's gaze she was reminded of a small child who was in trouble for stealing. She felt so guilty, but she's not sure why.

"Please, try and justify this. Make my day." Vin's teeth showed in his smile, but there was no joy in his words. Saffron kicked the floor a bit and looked at Hickory. The poor girl looked downright rattled as her genius brain tried to find a way to explain their reasoning to their new mentor. Taking pity on the poor girl, Saffron decided to speak up.

"There's nothing wrong with our weapons! Hickory fixes them up after every battle!" She said as she gave Vin a heavy glare, intimidated by his annoyed demeanor. Feeling the weight of her flamethrower on her hips, Saffron tried not to wince when it made a high pitched scratching sound. Vin scoffed at her, rubbing his fingers over his temples slowly. Nothing sounded better than a cold beer right now, but no, he was stuck here.

"The condition of your weapon isn't what I'm concerned about." Vin snapped, standing up straight and pulling his fingerless gloves further over his hands, "Any idiot can use a weapon, but if its not suited to you or your fighting style then it can limit your potential to mediocrity." The metal plate on the back of Vin's gloves flashed red for a moment, as he motioned for them to step back. Bending his knees slightly, Vin faced the training dummy, "Your weapon should serve as an extension of you and your Aura." His arm sailed forward as he aimed a punch at the dummy. Hickory jumped at what sounded like the cracking of a whip, and a funnel of air exploded from Vin's fist, blasting through the dummy's stomach and bursting against the wall behind it. Pieces of yellow rubber and plastic settled on the ground where the dummy once stood. Standing up straight, Vin turned back to look at Team MTHS with a grim look on his face. "Using weapons that don't compliment who you are as a person defeats their purpose. It doesn't matter how efficient or fancy the weapon is, you'll only be mediocre. That metal thing in your hand isn't what will defeat the Grimm, you are. The best weapon you will ever have is yourself, so everything external should compliment you."

"But we've had no problem with our weapon's so far, and it's way too late to start learning a totally different fighting style or weapon. The Festival is only a few weeks away." Mark's eyes were still wide as he stared at the destroyed dummy. He was in awe at the man before him as he spoke. The man had hardly even been trying when he destroyed that thing. All of Reverie's training dummies were designed to have the same durability as Death Stalker; Vin essentially took out a Death Stalker in one lazy blow. He truly was incredible.

"And making the necessary weapons would take tons of supplies, and time that we just don't have. The design alone would take us weeks," Vin cut Thorben off with a dismissive wave, returning his eyes to Hickory. The girl had her hands clasped behind her back, and was hunched forward a bit. Taking a few steps, Vin stopped when he was only two feet away from the girl.

"Professor Lucent told me about you. Your family owned a mechanic shop back in your village right?" The girl nodded, "He also told me you're a gadgeteer. One of the best he's ever seen. That's high praise coming from a man who refused orders from the leaders of Haven and lived." Vin mumbled a few insults under his breath. The girl perked up a bit, her fuzzy ears twerked towards him.

"I'm still learning, but I've got the highest marks in his class. My parents' actually owned a junkyard, but my father taught me the basics of tinkering and mechanics when I was five. I've only gotten better since then." Hickory bragged, her spine a little straighter. Her skill with machines was her biggest strengths, and she wasn't going to be shy about it. She could remember sitting in her father's lap as a young child, her brown hair just brushing her chubby cheeks as her plump fingers reached for the dull silver toy on her father's desk.

 _Her body shivered a bit as a draft floated through the barely insulated walls of the small wooden room. It was no bigger than a closet space, with a tiny window, desk that stood on uneven legs, and a desk light that flickered constantly. Snuggling deeper into her father's chest, young Hickory pouted when he gently moved her hand away, tinkering away at the small rod in front of him. His skin was a dark tan, stained brown from years of hard work in the sun. His callused hands dwarfed hers, nails tinged black from oil stains as he picked at a little machine in his hands._

 _"Papa, you've been working on that thing for hours." Her high pitched voice was muffled in his chest, brown eyes sliding closed. Glancing down at her, he gave her a tired smile, the deep bags under his eyes more pronounced. Putting the rod down he pet her hair tenderly._

 _"Are you tired, princess?" His asked gently, shivering in the brisk chill of the air._

 _"No! I'm never tired!" She declared in a low mumble, eyes slipping shut slowly. With a small laugh, the man returned to his work, determined to just let Hickory fall asleep on her own. Sparks flew as he worked on the small rod in his hands, humming a gentle song as he went._

 _"Oh fish paste," Papa frowned deeply, lifting up his smudged goggles and getting a clearer look at the wires. Wasn't he supposed to reconnect the red one to the pink box? Or was it the orange one?_

 _"Papa, what are you working on?" Hickory breathed in the metallic smell of the air deeply with a smile. It was one of her favorite smells, well that and her mother's ravioli._

 _"Do you remember Mrs. Parkson, the squirrel faunas who works at the grocery store?" Hickory nodded her head, "Well she's been having a problem with wasps. She's been sleeping at a friend's house because she's allergic, so I'm making her a bug zapper." Papa pressed a button on the small rod and a small jolt of white lightning shot out a few inches before fizzling harmlessly away._

 _"Wow!" Hickory breathed, eyes dancing with wonder as she looked at the magical device in her father's hand. Only this morning, it was a bent up out of shape piece of junk, and now it could do magic._

 _"Yep, its gonna make her life a lot easier!" Papa's laugh was contagious and young Hickory joined in. As her father continued to work, she gazed upon the device with memorized eyes. Her father had managed to turn a discarded piece from their junkyard into a wonderful machine that was going to help someone. Hickory could imagine the look on Mrs. Parkson's face when she would be able to return home again. Her father was working magic in that old shed, and maybe, one day, she would cast spells of her own._

"Well then, I want the three of you to go through all of your double formations." Vin's dark voice pulled her from her memories. Blinking slowly, she watched him tap a few quick things into his Scroll before speaking again, "You do have double names, right?"

"Not really," Mark hummed, cracking his neck loudly, "Never really thought about it." Vin sighed, before taking a few steps back from the group.

"Well go figure it out, and work on some combinations. Hickory, you and I are going to discuss you're team's upgrades. Honestly, how did you guys even get in my school with such pitiful weapons." He muttered the last part, but Hickory's keen ears still heard him. Holding her hands in front of her, she followed him obediently out of the door. Directing them to one of the viewing rooms, he pulled up a chair and waited for her to do the same. They were silent as Vin's eyes drifted over to watch the three other members of team MTHS try and finish the task he assigned to them.

"Um, Vin?" Hickory laid her scroll on the table, feeling abnormally fidgety. Sliding his eyes back to her, Vin stayed quiet as he took in her slight form. She wasn't too unusual looking, in fact she was a bit plain with brown hair and brown eyes, and brown clothes, and brown mouse ears. Come to think of it, not many of the students this year had outrageous color pallets. Perhaps it was going out of style? Her body was slender, and the goggles that sat on top of her head almost dwarfed her face. Everything about her was tiny. She truly was a little mouse.

Although, Vin's eyes slid to the oil stains on her fingernails with curious admiration, he would not call her harmless. He fought many battles, and it was always the small ones that put up the most surprising fight. The grease stains on the fabric of her goggles, the brown tan of her skin that suggested long hours in the sun, the course skin on the palm of her hands; all testaments to the girl's ability and willingness to work hard. Vin remembered the team fights during the auditions. Team MTHS verses Team GLSS. The sound of wire slicing through air and Hickory created elaborate traps with her yoyo like weapon, Clockwork she called it. The sophistication, complexity, and quality of the weapon far outshined anything he'd seen from a student before. The design was original, making it almost impossible for an enemy to guess its limitations even after a long battle. She was always doing something new. Whenever he thought she was down and out, Hickory managed to pull another trick out of that little pocket watch.

"You're teammates are strong," Vin commented off handedly, surprising Hickory. Vin wasn't one to give out compliments, "but their weapons weaken them. I'm sure you've realized this." He couldn't train them properly with the weapons they had now, it would only be encouraging mediocrity.

"Yes, I've observed that as well. It has been a source of conflict, for I want to make them entirely new weapons but they are resistant." Hickory paused, biting her lip lightly, "Its understandable of course, there is a sense of pride in a weapon one built with one's own hands. However, once it comes to pass that the machine needs fixing after every battle, it is no longer efficient and needs to be remade or replaced entirely."

"Are you gonna talk like that all the time?" Vin interrupted her with a frown on his face, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Pardon?" Blinking owlishly, Hickory watched as Vin ran his fingers roughly through his hair, tugging the strands harshly.

"The way you talk. Its really odd." Vin said, wanting nothing more to take a big swig of alcohol before continuing this conversation. From the look on her face, she seemed surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry if it bothers you, but I can not help it." There was an awkward pause as Vin let out an annoyed yell, took a deep breath, and put his hands on the table.

"Ok, I'm good. Since you've talked with them before, I'm guessing you've already made some sketches about potential weapons?" Hickory nodded, and projected a hologram from her scroll.

"I've made some adjustments to Thorben and Mark's weapons, but I've been toying with a totally new design for Saffron. Her flamethrower is inefficient, and constantly breaks down. It could be a severe detriment if it errors in the middle of a battle." Hickory felt at home now, moving virtual pieces from here to there as she spoke. Vin noticed her previous nerves were gone, and her shoulders were relaxed as she went on about her ideas. He wasn't listening, he knew they would be good. The challenge would come when they needed to convince the rest of the team to accept the adjustments. It appears they were resistant to change in the past, so hopefully Vin's endorsement would make them reconsider.

XXX

"Its been a while since I've seen you up here." Dawn opened the conversation as she sat down beside Yuro silently, her legs dangling off the side of the cliff. He didn't answer, but instead stared up to the sky and watched the sun paint purples and oranges behind the clouds. Not thrown off by his cold shoulder, Dawn trailed her eyes to his face. Watching as he blinked his eyes slowly, heavy bags carved into his face, she let out a frustrated huff. He'd been ignoring her for the past few weeks. It was understandable of course, but still frustrating. Deciding to buckle down for the long hall, she stretched towards the sky and leaned back on her hands, choosing to look down upon the campus grounds instead of towards the sky.

Crickets and birds noisily sang around them as the last few warm rays of sunlight twinkled away.

"Congratulations by the way," Yuro mumbled tiredly, his eyes sliding closed when she tilted her face to look at him, "I heard your team will be going to the Vytal festival, so congrats." The words felt like wet ash in his mouth, a slight bitterness stinging the back of his thoughts. If Primus was still there, he was pretty sure they would could have taken Dawn and her team. Catching his thoughts before they could become any darker, he breathed out a disappointed sigh. There was no reason to think like that, Dawn was his friend, he should be happy for her. She'd been nothing but supportive during these past few weeks, even if her presence was less than welcome.

"Oh yeah, thanks. Your friends from team myth made it too, but I didn't get to see them battle. Heard they did good though." She was obviously pushing for a conversation, but the last thing Yuro wanted right now was to talk about was the auditions.

"Yeah, but if you don't mind, I'm not really in the mood to talk about the trials." Yuro bit out, but if Dawn was surprised, she didn't show it. Instead she gave him a gentle smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"Right, I get it." Silence fell again, but it was a comfortable absence this time. Dawn didn't make any other attempts for conversation, and Yuro was grateful. He came up here to sort out his thoughts, not for a counseling session. Speaking of counseling, Viola should just be getting out of her session right now. This time had been hardest for her, after all Primus was more than her friend, he was her responsibility. The Lapointe family reputation rested heavily on her ability to keep him safe and she failed miserably. Although she kept a confident sneer on her face, he could see the defeat in her eyes. He once returned to their room late at night, to hear her sobbing on he phone as someone on the other side screamed and terrorized her, more than likely an unforgiving family member. Amber asked about it once, but Viola quickly told her to mind her own business, shocking the other girl at her blunt rudeness. They didn't ask again, and Viola never offered any information.

Amber was, well, she didn't seem to be doing too bad. There was an obvious sadness in her but it was nowhere near as deep as Viola's. To be honest, he didn't see her very much, but that was due to his own avoidance. It was suffocating to be in the same room with them, it brought back too many good memories of how things should have been. Yuro could feel Primus' presence in that room, and it caused his chest to ache.

Growing up he had felt a similar pain once before. His home life was less than ideal. Alcoholism and depression ran deep in his blood, and his parents succumbed to their demons when he was only a toddler. There were alive of course, but its hard to say how alive someone is when they're constantly intoxicated on beer and pills. The outside world was too painful, so his parents avoided it. They hated the world and everything in it. Including him. They never hit him, if he could say anything positive about them it would be that. All the abuse was verbal, so it was still painful, but at least it wasn't physical. At least it wasn't physical. That's what he always told himself when the idea of running away tempted him. Now he realized that there was no 'at least' that belonged in that statement. His parents were wrong and he didn't deserve that treatment at all, no one did, especially not a young boy.

"Yuro," Dawn's voice brought him back to the present. Her golden orange eyes were staring at him with deep concern, a small frown painted on her lips as she leaned near him. Reaching a hand over, he didn't move as she brushed a finger against his cheek. Only then did he realize he'd been crying and let out a shaky breath he didn't realize had gathered in his chest. "Oh, Yuro," She let out a sad whisper as he sat up and turned his back to her, cleaning his face on his sleeve before standing up and offering her a hand. Dawn looked at it reluctantly, but seeing the steel in his eyes she only let out a sigh and let him pull her up. Always the gentleman he was.

They walked down the mountain with practiced ease, they'd taken this path dozens of times before. Leaves were collecting on the ground, and the thick scent of rotting vegetation was almost overwhelming. Dawn walked slightly behind Yuro as they made their way down, watching him with curious eyes.

"You were thinking about Primus weren't you?" It was a gentle accusation, but one that demanded an answer. Stopping for a moment, he turned to study her. Dawn's large orange eyes watched him patiently, sparks of gold fluttering though her eyes as the clouds passed over the moon. Her dark skin was smooth and matched her dark purple hair well. Though what really stood out to him was how strong she was. There were no bulging muscles, but they were there, and a clear warning to anyone who dared challenge her. She was obviously a woman, with prominent curves and a tall height, but there was a strength that hid inside that reminded him of a setting sun, so beautiful but with the promise of a grim night ahead. She was his friend that much he couldn't deny, but in that moment, he realized he knew so little about her life.

In fact, he knew very little about any of his friends' lives. Of course he knew the basics, but everything he knew about Viola and Primus could be found online. In that moment he felt angry with himself. How could he not know the people he spent so much time with? How could he not know their stories as well as he knew his own? Granted, they didn't know much about him either but just as Dawn was doing, they always tried to know more.

"I was." Yuro admitted quietly, deciding that locking himself away wasn't working anymore. He couldn't live like this, or he'd end up alone and bitter. Dawn gave him a sad smile and walked passed him, prompting him to follow.

"Do you want to talk to me about it?" She hesitated for a moment, before looking back at him with questioning eyes. Yuro glanced up at the moon, shattered and broken but still there. Did he want to talk about it? Looking at the person in front of him, he was reminded of another. A ghost from his childhood. If he spoke to Dawn about what was going on in his mind, if he chose to be open and vulnerable there was no going back. He would hand her the keys to his emotions, and could only hope that she didn't abuse them. Although, it wouldn't only be Dawn he would hand these too. If he gave them to her, then he needed to give them to Amber and Viola too. They were all his friends, well he hoped they still were, he had been less than friendly these past few weeks. Anyway, it would all be decided right here, would be open up or not?

"No," Dawn's expression fell, but Yuro gave her a lopsided grin, "Thank you, but," he took a deep breath, "this is something I need to talk to my teammates about."

"Oh," something flashed across her eyes so fast he couldn't quiet tell what it was. Sadness, disappointment, annoyance? "I understand," She returned his smile in full, "well if you ever need me, I'll always be here for you, Yuro."

"Thank you, Dawn."

* * *

 **AN: Welcome to the Second Arc of Reverie Academy, the Vytal Festival. Please review, its really motivating for me and it lets me know who's still reading. So I'm sorry for the delay. I had a hard time writing the scene between Yuro and Dawn, just because I'm trying to develop Yuro in a certain direction, and I'm having a hard time doing that slowly. I decided to skip the auditions, just because there isn't really anything that happens during them that advances the plot or develops the characters. It would literally just be 2 or 3 chapters of action, so we're just going to pick up where it left off. This arc is going to deal** **strongly with emotions and relationships, so yeah, be ready for that.**

 **Also I've been playing around with the idea of pairings. Now I'm not usually an author who writes romance, but I feel like this story is a great platform to give it a try. So if you're interested in that, please comment or PM me your thoughts and some possible pairings. I've got some in mind, but I think it would be more fun for everyone if this story is as interactive as possible.**

 **Thank you, see you next time!**


	13. The Warden

Primus touched his dull white hair with the tips of his fingers, ignoring the itch in his scalp as he stared at the ceiling. The overhead light barely reached the corners of the metal cell, casting long shadows in its dim light. There was barely enough room for him to stretch out when laying down, and only three inches between him and the ceiling when he stood up. Leaning further into his corner, Primus exhaled slowly from his nose, then breathed in the sharp stench of body odor. The hairs in his nostrils recoiled from the funky smell, and Primus couldn't help but wonder how long it would take him to get used to his own reeking aroma. The guards didn't seem to mind, as they sat on the other side of the glass, playing cards lazily to pass the time.

Everyday it was like this. Wake up with sharp aches in his joints from sleeping in odd positions, eat what was surprisingly satisfying food, stare until dinner time, and go back to sleep. Repeat. Repeat. Every single day. It took a while for Primus to figure out the pattern, so he knew that its been more than two or so weeks since his capture. Two or more weeks since he was allowed to walk around and breath fresh air. Two weeks since he'd spoken to a human being.

Two weeks since he took a bath.

It felt so much longer. Upon his arrival they stripped him of his weapons, gave him a suprsingly comfortable black shirt and blue sweat pants before thowing him in here with minimal manhandling and no bruises. The first few days he spent on high alert, waiting for them to come back for him. But they didn't. No one interrogated him, threatened him, made him call home to order a ransom, heck no one even asked him his name. They just loaded him off the train like any other piece of cargo, cleaned him up, and put him away in storage. It was maddening. It was almost like an extended time out rather than a hostage situation. Perhaps this was another form of torture, Primus licked his lips at the thought. Unlikely, they fed him well, and the lights shut off for roughly nine hours everyday, allowing him a comfortable sleep on a thin mattress. His only complaint was the small toilet, which took far to long to flush and was way too loud. In fact, besides the bordem, Primus has to begrudgingly admit that he wasn't miserable. He wasn't happy, and far from content, but he wasn't miserable.

The guards stiffened, before jumping to their feet. Primus watched them curiously, this was the most energy he'd seen in any of his captors since his arrival. There was some muffled noise, and Primus contemplated if it was worth getting closer to hear, the glass would disrupt the sound no matter what. A voice in the back of him mind sassed that he had nothing better to do, so he shifted himself onto his knees and put his face right up to the glass, his breath creating a thin haze with each exhale.

"Do you understand?" Straining to look in the direction of the voice, Primus gave a frustrated huff when he couldn't see who was talking. Giving up, he turned his focus back to the guards in front of him.

"Yes, sir!" They answered in unison, and Primus almost smiled at the absolute terror in their voices. One of them looked his way, but Primus didn't move an inch when the guard walked up to his cage. The lower half of his face was covered with a black mask, which Primus had realized was sort of part of Nightfall's standard uniform for the lesser members. The man pulled his gun off his back, positioning it firmly in one hand and used the other to tap a code onto the metal key pad. Backing up slightly, Primus crouched down and patiently waited to spring. If he saw an opportunity to run, he'd go for it, but he'd have to be smart about it. His muscles were stiff, and his head pounded from the bad air quality. Rushing to a fight would be a bad idea, especially since he had no idea where he was.

"Don't even try it, kid." The guard drawled lazily, taking a step back and motioning for Primus to step outside of his cage. Hesitating for a moment, Primus mulled over bum rushing the guy, but let it fade away pretty quickly. Relying on pure force wasn't going to cut it, this guy looked like he snacked on rivets. Deciding it was best to comply, Primus relaxed his shoulders as he moved out of the metal box he called home. The air that filled his lungs was the sweetest thing he's ever tasted. It wasn't fresh, but it was like an apple straight from the branch in comparison to what he's been filling his lungs with.

"Alright, lets line them up two by two." The other guard called, shoving a girl forward towards the middle of the room. Primus' eyes grew wide, as he watched the guards release roughly seven or eight other young people from similar cages. They wore the same outfit as him, regardless of gender. Grunting as one guard yanked him into a place in line, Primus resisted the instinctual urge to grab the man's hand and flip him over his shoulder. Patience. Patience. He just had to be attentive. None of the other kids seemed to anxious either, that was good, but also to be expected. These were more than likely all heirs to some sort of Dust company, so they were trained on proper behavior during a kidnapping situation. Tilting his had down slightly, Primus fell back on his own training and tried not to draw attention to himself as the group was moved forward. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't someone first time as a hostage.

Proper procedure was to stay alive by any means necessary. That meant, comply, obey, and don't try to escape on your own. Even as a Hunter in training, Primus didn't dare challenge the guards, even if he bet his left leg he could beat them under normal circumstances. For one, his body was in shambles, plus he had no idea where he was or how many people were watching him. Even with all the other heirs here, there were just too many unknowns for them to try and escape right now. They were the children of wealth and power, for their families' sake they needed to stay alive. What they did know was their captors were dangerous, and Primus knew first hand how strong some of their members were. He didn't want to risk causing trouble only to run into Aden again.

Bile rose in his throat at the thought of the man's blazing black eyes, burning on the sense of power and control he had over the lives of Primus' teammates. Shoving the memory away, Primus swallowed thickly. Now was not the time for that. He needed to focus, to find someway to slip off or at least get a signal out.

The prisoners wore no chains as they marched two by two down a windowless hallway that slopped upwards. So they'd been underground this whole time, Primus thought, that would explain the stuffy air. The guards mumbled lowly to each other, before the group stopped for a moment.

"Owe," the boy next to him hissed, shifting slightly and grabbing every heir's attention. Primus watched him curiously form the corner of his eye, flashing him a friendly but strained smile when the boy caught his eye. The smile quickly fell from his face when the boy shot him a frustrated glare, before returning to look at his feet. Now that he had something to satisfy his starving curiosity, Primus took the boy's appearance in. Dressed in the same simple tshirt and sweatpants, the boy's olive skin was covered in a light grime, signaling that he'd been captured far before Primus was. His thick black hiar was a bit stringy with grease, and fell in clumps over his face as he reached down to toy with his ankle. Hissing slightly when he moved it to the left the boy gave an annoyed huff before setting the foot back down gingerly.

"I could use my Aura to fix that if you want?" Primus whispered lowly, ignoring a nasty look one of the girls threw back at him. He didn't blame them though. He was drawing attention to himself, which broke one of the basic rules about being a hostage. They were worried they would get caught up in whatever bad situation he found himself in. It was self preservation.

"You have enough?" The boy murmured with a curious glint in his eyes, surprising Primus that he even replied at all. Nodding lightly, the boy's eyes darted to the guards, who were still muttering to one another with their backs turned to the kids. Lifting up his leg as unassumingly as he could, the boy played lookout while Primus concentrated. Biting his lip slightly, Primus focused what his Aura into the wound. It flowed out of him like a river filled with jagged rocks, lack of practice does that. Funneling the somewhat uneven energy into the wound, Primus felt a bead of sweat roll down his face as he could almost feel the bone stitching itself together under the thin layer of skin. Finished, Primus quickly stood up and watched as the boy applied some pressure onto his foot. The boy beamed when the pain didn't come, and gave Primus the most charming smile he could manage in his current state of grime.

"Please stop moving around, you're gonna get us in trouble." The girl in front of them, her dull green hair in a tangled bun, didn't look back at them as she gave her whispered plea. Sharing a look of understanding between them, Primus and the other boy returned to their expected positions with their heads down and their mouths closed. Primus could amost feel the entire group relax, then instantly stiffen up again when the guards stood at attention and faced them. Narrowing his eyes, Primus could feel the tension in the room rising before he could hear the footsteps. They echoed lightly, growing more intense with each step. His palms damped as his instincts sounded an alarm before the guards ordered them to face forwards. The footsteps stopped, but Primus kept his eyes down. Don't draw attention. Don't draw attention.

"So these are my new charges?" The man hummed, a bit of mirth trickling in at the thought of monitoring these spoiled rats. Clicking his tongue, the man strode forward, using a surprisingly gentle hand, he tilted one of the boy's faces up. Forced to look into the man's yellow eyes, the boy froze as a feeling of dread washed over him, causing his knees to shake. Shaking his head with disapproval, the man dropped the boy's face before dismissing the guards with a lazy wave of his hand.

"Sir, we've been given orders to monitor your," The man never finished. His eyes bulged in their sockets and his skin turned red as he clawed at the hand around his neck. Looking completely unbothered by the man's struggled, the yellow eyed man gave a quick flick of his wrist and the man went flying. Cowed, the other guard stuttered for a moment before fleeing, not stopping to check on his partner.

"Pitiful. They've really got to step up their recruiting tactics if those worms were the best they could find." The man rubbed his hands together absentmindly, an annoyed frown marring his dark brown face. "Them, watch me? As if rats could hold a lion."

Primus dared to lift his head slightly, and watched as their new warden studied them with an inquisitive stare. His yellow tipped dreads framed his dark face, and his sleek build screamed trained killer. This guy was dangerous; any escape attempt with him around would be disastrous if he got a hold of them. Primus felt the boy next to him shift uneasily, and the two made eye contact. It seems they came to the same conclusion. As long as this man was here, they wouldn't be able to escape on their own. Primus swallowed thickly, they'd have to wait for rescue.

"From now on, you're new warden is me." The man paced slowly in front of them in long strides, staring them into submission, "You will obey. Any rebellious behavior or troublemakers that step out of line will cause the entire group to be punished severely." Primus' eyes met the warden's, and almost felt his soul collapse under the pressure. Opia. That was the only way he could describe the intense power that radiated from the man. Stopping, the man strode right up to Primus and looked him directly in the eye. They were roughly the same height, but the man may have been an inch or two shorter. The man cocked his head to the side curiously, but Primus held his chin up and refused to look away. Even captured, he was still the temporary heir to the Lune family, and a Huntsman on top of that. He would not be daunted by a criminal.

When he realized Primus would not back down from his challenge, an amused hum before stepping away. Making a note to watch the white haired young man, the warden took a few steps back. The Warden then turned his attention to the boy next to Primus. This one had the same fire in his eyes. Hunters in training more than likely, the Warden's superiors mentioned that most of these children were trained. It made little difference.

"What is your name, boy?" The warden demanded, keeping the boy's gaze as Primus watched from the corner of his eyes.

"Argent Pharaoh." The answer was clipped and short, but Primus could still hear the pride the boy held for his family name. Stowing that name away, Primus watched as the Warden scoffed before turning his back on them and walking forward a few steps. He addressed them without looking back.

"You may call me Warden, but it would serve you well to remember my name," the man paused, "Palio Ettem." Primus exhaled silently, trying to get the tension to leave his body. The group began to march forward again, and Primus kept his eyes glued on the Warden's back. It was just as he thought, escape was risky with this man watching them. More than likely at least five of the other heirs were trained Hunters, but even if it was six against one, many of them were weak from less than desirable living conditions and lack of exercise. Plus their weapons were missing. Frustration filled him, but he pushed it back when he could hear Viola's voice scolding him. Instead of anger, absolute crushing despair filled him.

 _"Wait!" Primus clung tightly to Viola as one of the guards tried to yank her from his hands, looking over, he saw Yuro and Mark being gathered off the ground rather roughly. Digging his fingers into Viola's arm, he prayed she'd forgive him for the bruises._

 _"Really, don't be so dramatic about this. It's going to happen one way or another so stop with the theatrics." Aden scoffed as Viola was finally torn from Primus' hands. The boy fell forward, grunting a bit as he brought his arms up to stop his fall._

 _"Leave them alone!" Primus bit out, pushing himself up to his feet and glaring into Aden's eyes, Primus felt impossibly small under his ashen glare. "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go safely." Bile rose in his throat as the guards marched away with his friends in tow. No. No! His eyes filled with frustrated tears as he reached for them one more time, knowing that he would only grasp air. Primus struggled against his bonds as his friends were taken away. Digging his heels in the ground, he let out a frustrated wail as he was pulled in the other direction._

He still had no idea what happened to Viola or the others. Primus prayed that they were able to escape, but a dark voice in the back of his head told him otherwise. His throat felt tight as his eyes began to burn. Once again his poor decisions had ended in death. Not his death, life was too cruel to make him pay for his own actions directly, but in the death of his friends. Now that was a depressing thought, and he the self loathing wash over him. After weeks of avoiding the cruel thought that his friends were dead, reality bashed him upside the head. Coupled with fatigue, aching joints, anxiety, and a whisper of helplessness, Primus just wanted to hit something. Anything.

Snapping his head up, Primus felt an elbow lightly nudge his arm. Argent was giving him a pointed look, his face tinged with a bit of pity as he watched Primus struggle with his mind.

"Get it together man," Argent hissed, eyes on the Warden's back cautiously. When he was sure the man couldn't hear, or didn't care to, Argent leaned over a bit, "This is not the time to feel sorry for yourself. You're an heir, aren't you? Act like it. Don't embarrass your family." The girl with a green bush hushed them harshly, her face even more irritated than before as she glared back at them. Primus closed his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. This was not the time to crack under pressure. His pity party wasn't going to do anyone any good. Stepping carefully up the stairs, Primus blinked rapidly as they entered a windowed room. Never had he felt so happy to feel the sun's rays on is skin, it would have been even better if bars weren't marring the view. Filing into the cement box, the Warden watched them carefully before giving short instructions to keep the noise to a minimum before he slammed the metal door shut.

XXX

"I hope you think about what we talked about today, Viola." The man with curly hair gave her a gentle smile, lines born from fatigue marring his once youthful features. With a short nod, Viola exited the room as fast as she possibly could, rubbing her arms to get ward off the chilly wind when she stepped outside. She knew she should have brought a jacket, but she was already late since class got out late. Letting out a frustrated huff, Viola prepared herself for another dinner alone as she marched proudly to the cafeteria. Ignoring the razor like whispers of her classmates as she strode by, she quickly went through a mental checklist of tonight's homework. Mumbling to herself, she jumped into the air when two fingers were jammed into her sides, making her let out an undignified screech.

"Saffron!" Viola growled, cheeks burning as the other blonde only laughed merrily at her. Stomping angrily, Viola turned on her heels and continued towards the cafeteria, determained to save what dignity she had left.

"Wait!" Saffron breathed airily, hunched over as her body shook with the last tremors of her. Jogging lightly up to Viola, the two feel in step with ease. There were only a dozen or so students mulling around the dining hall. Some slowly chewing on their food and gazing down at a book or two, others fully immersed in their studies, food going cold in front of them. Although Viola wasn't in the mood for companionship, she had to admit having Saffron around was nice. Typically their personalities clashed too much for them to handle being around each other without other people acting as buffers, but Saffron was atypically silent. Of course, Viola could sense the energy bursting beneath Saffron's green eyes, but it wasn't nearly as sickly sweet as it usually was.

It was best to just tolerate the other girl for now, Viola decided, setting down her tray and biting into her chicken as Saffron sat across from her. Chewing in silence, the two girls stole the occasional glance at each other. Remembering what her theorpist said about socializing, Viola resisted the urge to groan. At least she could tell him she was trying, maybe then he'd stop looking at her with those sad doe eyes like he did when she had nothing to report.

"When do you leave for Beacon?" Viola dared to start a conversation. Hopefully that would get the ball rolling, and it cut out any pointless small talk. Saffron perked up a bit at the question, giving Viola a small smile as she swallowed.

"In two days, Vin wants to get their early so we can practice on the actual stage." Saffron answered. Viola quirked up an eyebrow, violet eyes shining with intrest.

"I didn't know you were allowed to practice on it beforehand." Viola inquired, gently probing Saffron for more information. She knew for a fact that was not allowed, she'd gone to three Vytal Festival tournaments as a child, and her cousin explained the strict rules in heavy detail.

"Me neither, but you know how Vin is. When he wants it, he usually finds a way to get it, conventional means or otherwise." The two girls chuckled lightly at the thought. The second in command of Reverie Academy was a roguish man, and they respected him dearly for it.

"True, I hope you've been able to keep up with his training methods. I've heard only the best can keep up with him, so I admit I'm a tad worried about you," Viola felt a bit of her haughtiness slip into her voice to her surprise. She hadn't teased or turned her nose up at anyone since Primus went missing. Oh her therapist would love to hear this.

"Ha, very funny." But the smile Saffron gave was strained, "He's a hard teacher, and my muscles feel like they've been filled with cement after every session, but Vin's a great teacher. I can see everyone improving. With the new weapons, formations, and his training, we've got a real shot against the big schools." Viola watched Saffron carefully, eyes searching the other girl carefully.

"You're such a liar," Viola said bluntly, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder when Saffron's mouth dropped open in surprise. Giving a patronizing laugh, Viola felt all of her frustration and anger pour into her words, "Really, I don't know how everyone else falls for it. We've got a real shot," Viola raised her voice an octave to imitate Saffron before scoffing, "Please. You don't believe that. So just drop the happy go lucky act already."

"I-I'm not," Saffron stuttered quietly, before pulling herself together, "I'm not acting, we've trained really hard and," Viola put her hand up to silence her.

"There you go again! You always do that. When things get tense you just keep on smiling some a mom in some bad sitcom. And you're always trying to please others, I don't think I've ever seen you not act like some fake, preppy school girl." Viola just couldn't stop, even when she saw the anger in Saffron's eyes.

"What is that supposed to mean? I'm not fake! Just because I try to look on the bright side and get along with people," Saffron was cut off once again.

"By just being an agreeable ditz! Honestly, you're so fake is disgusting! I don't know how any of your teammates put up with it. Always so cheerful and agreeable, hell you're the perfect teammate aren't you? Positive and caring, never with a thought of your own!"

"Stop it, Viola!" Saffron snapped, but her voice quivered, and tears threatened to fall from her eyes. Falling silent, guilt washed over Viola as the other girl stayed silent for a pregnant second. She let her anger at herself turn on Saffron, which is one thing her therapist told her to be careful of.

"Look," Viola started awkwardly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that, I'm just angry at myself." Viola bit her lip and swallowed her pride.

"It's ok," Saffron whispered, a tear barely fell from her eye before she wiped it away. "I know you've been having a tough time, that's why I came to find you. I wanted to make sure you were ok." Viola said nothing as guilt sunk its sharp talons into her gut. Well now she just felt aweful. "But you're not completely wrong."

"No Saffron I," This time, Saffron cut Viola off with an embarrassed wave of her hand.

"Come on, let me finish!" She gave a dry chuckle, eyes staring down at the table, "You're right, I do put on an act. I wouldn't say I'm fake or anything, but I do always try and come off as up beat and positive. You see, I grew up in an orphanage after my parents died when I was little. Don't give me that look!" Saffron smirked lightly at Viola's horrified face, instantly trying to put her mind at ease, "I was only a baby, so I don't remember them and the orphanage was really nice. The building was refurbished every year and there was lots of food and toys, plus I got a present for Christmas every year. Now as I was saying, I grew up in a nice orphanage," Saffron stressed that part as Viola relaxed, "and I really wanted to find a family. So I tried to be the ideal little girl. I did well in my classes, I took up drawing and singing, I even nagged one of the caretakers to give me some etiquette classes.

Every open house I would put on my nicest dress and grip my drawings and report card tight. I thought that if I could just show them how hard I worked and how good I was, they'd want me. Someone would want to take me home. Every day I stood in the foyer and watched couples take kids out one by one. They'd smile and laugh with their new families, and I was left in the hallway, every time." Saffron brushed away a few more tears, "I didn't understand what was wrong with me, so I asked one of the older girls. She just shrugged and told me to smile and look pretty, because if no one took me while I was young, no one would ever want me. She was basically like a big sister to me, so I did what she said. And it worked. A lot more couples approached me. So I kept amping it up. I became witty, polite, caring, sunny and just about every other adjective you could think to describe the perfect daughter. I was the main attraction. They all said they loved me, but no one every wanted to take me home."

"I'm so sorry." Viola tried to soothe the other girl, although it was obvious she was out of her element. Saffron only shrugged, but the heaviness in her eyes told Viola that it haunted Saffron far more than what she let on.

"No, no, I promise it gets better! When I was eight this older couple came in, Violet and Blanche. They tried to have a baby for years, but just gave up. When I met them, they told me I was everything they ever dreamed of, and honestly they were everything I wanted too. So they signed my papers and took me home. I was scared of getting sent back so I kept up the perfect daughter routine. I did all my chores without being asked, did well on my homework, I even took up piano because I knew just how badly Violet wanted to brag to her friends that her daughter was a musician. They showered me with praise and love, you have to understand after being rejected so many times over and over again, I was so happy to have people who loved me and were proud of me. I didn't want anything to jeopardize that. I guess somewhere along the way I became a people pleaser, and the need to be perfect just became part of my personality."

"That's why you're so agreeable," Viola mused lightly, "It must bring back bad memories for you to take rejection or to know someone doesn't like you after you grew up in that environment." Viola tugged on her hair a bit, no longer feeling hungry.

"Yeah, I guess that's why people see me as fake, but I really don't mean to deceive anyone." Saffron agreed.

"Fake wasn't the right way to put it," Viola winced, "More like a Stepford Smiler." There was heavy silence between them for a few seconds, more students started trickling into the dining hall, all looking tired but cheerful as they chatted amongst themselves.

"What I'm trying to get at, is I understand how you feel." Saffron whispered, Viola's head snapped up. A bitter taste filled her mouth, but she didn't say anything. Let Saffron finish first. "You always put up this front of being proud and strong, but I can see that you're just trying to hide. You always mock others fighting ability, but I think that's because your own ability is lacking. Don't get me wrong, you're extraordinary in class, but you choke on the field. It's a real blow to your pride. You were tasked with protecting Primus, but I can guess that he was the one usually protecting you. But you can't be angry with yourself, or you'll kill yourself from the inside out. So you project your anger out onto other people, like you do with me."

"Stop," Viola demanded, her voice strained. "I've already had one person mess with my mind today, I don't need you doing it too." Viola stood up, her eyes clenched closed. Saffron watched her sadly.

"You can't keep everything in, try talking to your team." Saffron suggested, but Viola was gone before she could say anything more.

* * *

 **AN: Ok so this chapter was defiantly one of the more important ones in my opinion. I had to establish that Primus doesn't know if the others are alive, but I also had to address Viola and Saffron's relationship which was the literally the first conflict between characters. I can't believe it took me this long to have them interact one on one again.**

 **We also got to meet two new OCs, Argent and Palio, who will serve a big part of Primus' storyline. For those of you who haven't seen your character yet, do not worry. They will show up within the next 2 or 3 chapters. I just want to do a little at a time, so everyone can get the time they deserve.**

 **Finally please Review. This is the part of the story were the struggle is getting real. I just finished Assassination Classroom so the plot bunnies are being pretty ruthless. However, I refuse to start another story until this one is finsished as long as the OC creators are actively enjoying the story. The easiest way for me to know your enjoying it is a review or a PM.**

 **Finally, thank you all for the pairings feedback. I think for now, I'm going to hold off on it. If I see the chance, I might take it, but right now there aren't any pairings that are sticking out for me. Everything is pretty platonic right now. Anyway thanks, have a good day.**


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